TPG’s Move Was Different Than Permira’s, And When Will Apollo Follow Suit?
“Giving money back is something VCs did after the bubble, but PE firms will never do it.” That’s what I was told six months ago when I asked GPs struggling in the fundraising market if they’d ever decide, “Maaaaybe we don’t need that much money in this environment.” Then firms like Blackstone and Madison Dearborn lowered their targets. Then rumors of LPs missing their capital calls spread like wildfire. And now we have the next logical step: Firms allowing LPs to scale back their commitments. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that TPG had followed in the footsteps of Permira, allowing its investors to cut their commitments to the $20 billion vehicle by as much as 10%, or $2 billion. TPG is the second firm to allow such a move, but the Permira (the first) move looks a bit different and here’s why: TPG is much more benevolent than Permira.
