Steve Bills

Sterling Financial sale worth 2.5x to sponsors, on paper

A pair of buyout shops appears poised to earn roughly 2.5x their money—at least on paper—from a bank they invested in following the financial crisis.

Poll results: Half expect win at trial in collusion lawsuit

Often when we conduct these reader surveys at peHUB, we get runaway results, often (as I have frequently suspected) because the common background of our readers in the alternative investing arena leads them to share common views of issues in the news. Not this time.

In Diversification Move, Spell Capital Closes $135 Mln Mezz Fund

Spell Capital Partners LLC is looking to its new mezzanine fund to swing deals that would otherwise fall outside its investing mandate.

Moody's Sees Bankruptcy In '13 For Biggest Buyout

The financial stress has been apparent for two years or more at Energy Future Holdings Corp, and now Moody’s Investors Service Inc has put a timetable on the Texas utility’s likely reorganization. The credit rating agency said last week that at least some units of the company are likely to file for bankruptcy by the end of the year.

FNB Capital Shows Banks Way Past Volcker Rule

American banks, which have been shedding their private equity operations because of the Volcker Rule, may be able to use an exemption in the financial reform law at least to get back into the lower end of the middle market.

peHUB Reader Poll: Whither the Collusion Lawsuit?

With the dismissal in August of Thomas H. Lee Partners LP from an antitrust lawsuit accusing major buyout firms of improperly colluding on take-private deals, seven firms remain as defendants. Where do you think the case ends up?

Platinum Equity Closes Fund III At $3.75B Target: UPDATED

Platinum Equity LLC has completed fundraising for its third buyout vehicle. The Beverly Hills, Calif.-based shop announced that it raised $3.75 billion, achieving its target for Platinum Equity Capital Partners III.

Need To Meet: Andrew Malk, Managing Partner, Malk Sustainability Partners

As premier buyout firms take more prominent positions on issues such as the environment and good governance, they are boosting the likelihood that smaller firms will follow suit, said Andrew Malk, the managing partner of consulting firm Malk Sustainability Partners.

BDC Exec Predicts Growth For Non-Traded Lending Vehicles - Buyouts

The BDC industry is likely to continue to expand as banks shift away from risky cash-flow loans, and non-traded BDCs capture a growing share of that expansion, Robert K. Grunewald, CIO of non-traded Business Development Corporation of America (BDCA), told peHUB sister magazine Buyouts.

Former VSS Buyout Executive Sues For Severance

Another buyouts executive has sued his former employer, in this case seeking severance pay after being let go for allegedly not being willing to sign an employment contract that would limit his options after leaving the firm.