DARBY OVERSEAS INVESTMENTS

The emerging markets private equity scene has few brand names, but the name Darby increasingly looms large from Asia to Latin America to, most recently, Eastern Europe. Darby Overseas Investments, based in Washington DC, last month took over the management of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Emerging Europe, a $220 million private equity fund operating in Central and Eastern Europe. The firm looks set to maintain and expand its foothold as an equity and mezzanine participant in the world's emerging economies.