Cezary Podkul
Despite a difficult credit market and unprecedented volatility in the US financial services sector, private equity firms poured nearly $6bn in US banks in the first half of the year and are on track to invest more.
The ailing savings and loan had previously sought to be taken over by banking giants JPMorgan and Citi, but as such talks have not yet resulted in any deal, the bank is reportedly seeking a deal with Blackstone or Carlyle.
Relaxed guidelines for US banking sector investments will likely encourage more private equity deals, but some insiders, including Belvedere Capital founder Richard Decker, say they won't necessarily 'open the floodgates to private equity'.
The $60 million investment, made alongside Middle East investor The Family Office, marks the buyout firm’s second investment in the company, which it acquired in 2006.
JC Flowers' founder may use the First National Bank of Cainesville as a platform acquisition for other distressed and failed deposit-taking institutions, according to a regulatory filing.
The Federal Reserve has issued new policy guidelines that will make it easier for private equity investors to take larger stakes in US banks.
The firms' decisions to become bank holding companies may present new challenges to keeping their private equity arms under the same roof.
According to RiskMetrics, a corporate governance advisory group, investors in publicly listed funds, such as those managed by Macquarie and Babcock & Brown, are being kept in the dark about the funds' contractual arrangements.
The public private partnership represents the largest development of schools in Canadian history and the second such project for Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships in that country. The fund has a 75 percent equity stake in the 32 year design, build, finance and maintain contract.
The promotions of Brett Gordon, Alex Rogers and John Toomey brings to 20 the firm’s total number of managing directors worldwide, with five focused on the firm’s secondaries business and four working on direct investments.