February 2002 Issue

Fund Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity Fund Firm Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Sectoral Focus All Sectors Considered Private Equity Amount Raised £60m Fund Type Venture Capital Amount Targeted £100m Status First Closing Investors Private Investors Geographical Focus United Kingdom Advisors SJ Berwin (L) Fund Advantage Capital Partners I Firm Advantage Capital Sectoral Focus All Sectors Considered […]

Part II of Joe Bartlett's overview of best market practice for negotiating the terms and conditions of venture capital and buyout funds. The first installment of his catalogue of Frequently Asked Questions appeared in the previous issue of PEI.

Rigorous insurance due diligence is key in the buyout process if nasty surprises are to be avoided. It can also boost a bidder's bargaining position, finds Philip Borel.

The golden age is over, but Jean-Philippe Mocci in Paris finds French practitioners far from disillusioned. Times may be tough and consolidation looks inevitable, but 2002 should still produce results for buyout artists and venture capitalists – even if local investors don't want to know.

What does the Internal Rate of Return of a private equity fund tell you? Or better, what do you think it tells you? Private Equity International takes a closer look at what IRR is and what it isn't.

The popular view is that only masochists are attempting to raise new private equity or VC funds at present. Over-allocated investors and those still smarting from the implosion of IT company valuations are just two groups who have apparently made the fundraising trail a long and painful one for old and new firms alike. David Hawkins looks at how accurate a picture this is.

Jeremy Coller set out a decade ago to raise Europe's first fund of funds. It turned out investors didn't want to buy private equity. Would they want to sell it to him instead? He talks to Philip Borel about ambition, the problem with partnerships and the deal that is on all his competitors' radar screens.

Industry associations around Asia are seeking to form an organisation dedicated to improving the region's haphazard performance standards. Angela Mackay reports.

The history of the US private equity market's love affair with Private Investments in Public Equities is as short as it is sordid. David Snow looks at what's gone wrong.

When European issuers default on high yield debt, bondholders' claims may be worth very little.

The latest edition of the Report on Alternative Investing by Tax Exempt Organizations by Goldman Sachs and Frank Russell shows that investors' appetite for private equity has not gone away despite the market downturn. Helen Steers takes a look at some key findings.

News: People Staff 2002-02-01 Writer Siemens venture manager joins PolyTechnosPolyTechnos Venture Partners, the Munich-based venture capitalist, has hired Dr Dirk Lupberger, the former president and CEO of Siemens Venture Capital, to work in its ITC practice.

News: Deals Staff 2002-02-01 Writer Apax, Hicks Muse bolt onto YellBuyout houses Apax Partners and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst have agreed to buy US directories business McLeodUSA Publishing for $600m.The business will be bolted onto Yell

News: Funds Staff 2002-02-01 Writer €2bn Advent fund to focus On EuropeAdvent International intends to invest 70 per cent of Global Private Equity IV, its new €2bn buyout fund, in Western Europe, with the balance going to North America and Asia.

In the world of private equity, IRR has become much more than a mathematical algorithm. It has become both badge of honour and shorthand for all that's wrong with funds' disclosure of past performance. Its ambiguity is notorious. Investors allege that it lends itself to manipulation. They ridicule its readiness to provide GPs with numbers […]