Bain Capital related stories
All articles and analysis
3i sails out of DockwiseHAL and Bain’s fixed income arm in US$82.2m deal
- The Buyout of America
A wise man once wrote: “You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life.” Ok, it was Alan Thicke, but the message of balance served Jo and Tootie well for nine years. And it’s one that I wish NY Post reporter Josh Kosman had kept in mind when writing The Buyout of America http://www.buyoutofamerica.com/ which hits book shelves next month. Kosman’s basic thesis is that leveraged buyouts are bad news, and that their practitioners either don’t care or have deluded themselves otherwise. Moreover, he believes that around half of all PE-backed companies will collapse between now and 2015, triggering another economic meltdown and adding two million folks to the unemployment rolls. Pretty cataclysmic stuff. To be clear, I don’t dismiss any of the above out of hand. After all, we heard some of these same warnings two and three years ago about collateralized mortgage obligations, and look where ignoring that got us. We keep hearing big-name PE execs talk about how most of their portfolio debt doesn’t come due until at least 2013, as if 2013 is some vortex into which loan obligations will somehow disappear. The bill always comes due, and the only thing that will prevent certain mega-LBOs from failing will be a bailout by their existing sponsors. Moreover, I fully support Kosman’s distain for PE firms that charge various fees to their portfolio companies’ balance sheets, particularly transaction fees and monitoring fees (no matter the particular GP/LP split). A private equity firm simply should not be able to preemptively profit on a company it helps bankrupt. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
- Debt Restructurings For All But a Few Mega-Deals
With today's news of Blackstone's plans to swap debt for equity in portfolio company Hilton Hotels, I imagined just about all of the top ten largest LBOs have now undergone some sort of debt-fixing deal. To be sure, I checked in on each of them and a few other well-known mega-deals, excluding those already exited like TPG's Alltel and of course, KKR's RJR Nabisco. As it turns out, all but a few have done something to ease their debt situation. From my research, First Data. Kinder Morgan, and Equity Office Properties have not publicly undergone any major debt restructurings. Here's a look at those who have:
- Private Equity Pros Want Your Vote
Nautic Partners co-founder Rory Smith yesterday became the latest PE pro to throw his hat into the electoral ring, announcing his plans to run for Rhode Island governor. The others are: Steve Pagliuca (Bain Capital – U.S. Senate from Massachusetts); Kip Kirkpatrick (Water Street Healthcare Partners – Illinois treasurer) and Allen Alley (Battery Ventures until 1996 – Oregon governor). The party split is even, as Smith and Alley are Republicans, while Pagliuca and Kirkpatrick are Democrats. [Update: Seems I missed that Kirkpatrick dropped outhttp://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/09/sources-kirkpatrick-to-drop-from-democratic-race-for-treasurer.html# , saying he underestimated the time demands of being a candidate] I hope to interview each of them within the next week, including a video spot I’m doing tomorrow with Pagliuca. Particularly interested to hear what each of them thinks about the spate of pending legislation and rules changes aimed at private equity and venture capital. Whatever you think of the specific proposals – fund registration, carried interest tax changes, placement agent bans, etc. – it is a bit odd that the PE asset class is getting so much scrutiny without causing any systemic troubles. Not saying that certain changes aren’t positive, but it does seem that you, dear readers, make for a soft target right now.
- peHUB Wire: Thursday, October 22, 2009
Random Ramblings
- peHUB Wire: Thursday, October 22, 2009
Random Ramblings
- peHUB Wire: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
This is Erin filling in for Dan while he’s moderating panels at the Quebec City Conference