Bain Capital Just Can't Win
I don't usually feel sorry for Bain Capital. Then again, I'm not usually sweating in the middle of May. Guess there's a first time for everything... Private Equity Insider today reports that investors in Bain's tenth buyout fund are "grumbling" about the firm's slow pace of capital deployment. From its story: They’re especially irate about a recent lack of activity from the $10 billion vehicle, Bain Capital Fund 10. In January 2009, six months after the vehicle’s final close, Bain sent a letter to limited partners stating that it was “well-positioned to benefit from the dislocation in the credit markets.” At the time, the fund was 27% deployed and Bain’s declaration seemed to indicate that the Boston firm would increasingly draw on investor commitments. But since then, it has deployed only $800 million more — leaving the vehicle a mere 35% drawn almost two years after wrapping up marketing. First, a few factual points: (1) The fund is actually $10.8 billion, not including a related co-investment vehicle; (2) The fund closed in February 2008; (3) The fund today is around 37% committed, including for the SkillSoft (closed today) and Dow Styron ($700m equity check, closing by end of June) deals.
