Suzanne Weinstock
Pensions in Los Angeles and San Francisco allocated $159m to private equity funds including Apollo's European distressed debt vehicle.
Private equity-backed Mrs. Fields Famous Brands plans to file for Chapter 11 as declining consumer spending takes its toll. The shopping mall-centred company's Mrs. Fields and TCBY franchise stores have suffered closures since 2004.
The Canadian pension and the infrastructure platform of investment bank Morgan Stanley have each acquired 50 percent of Chile’s second largest electric energy company.
The head of JC Flowers has reportedly established a fund under his personal control – a possible solution to stringent US bank holding company regulations.
The private equity secondaries firm has purchased its first portfolio made up exclusively of Latin American companies from Buenos Aires, Argentina-based Pegasus Capital. The transaction is the first for Paul Capital’s São Paulo office.
The private equity firms have agreed to sell Talecris Biotherapeutics, purchased for $590m in 2005, to Australian blood products company CSL.
Private equity now makes up 11 percent of the Canadian pension’s capital under management, which has grown to nearly $128bn. The CPPIB has narrowly bucked the loss-making trend among North American pension funds, recording a 1 percent total return on investments in the three months ended in June.
A listed-investment vehicle of private equity firm Apollo Global Management has marked down by 25% its co-investment in casino company Harrah’s Entertainment. Harrah’s was acquired by Apollo Global Management and TPG for a total $17.1bn earlier this year.
TPG, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs have sold a minority stake in the electricity distribution arm of portfolio company Energy Future Holdings, formerly TXU. The sale is the first since the record $45bn buyout closed in October 2007.
The mid-market private equity arm of UK bank Barclays has gained shareholder approval for the €15.50 per share buyout of Munich-based IT distributor Computerlinks.