September 2002 Issue

PEMI 2002-09-01 Staff Writer Firm21 Centrale PartnersAmount Raised€56mFund TypeDevelopm

The German private equity market has become notorious for its failure to live up to expectations. But is this fair? Current market conditions may not be ideal, but the industry is adapting, and new players are emerging that are looking to capitalise on new private equity investment opportunities. Fundraising on the other hand is still tough.

Japanese pension funds and other institutional investors are slowly discovering, not always for the first time, the attractions of private equity as an asset class. For GPs looking to tap new sources of capital, starting to build relationships now should prove lucrative in the future.

Institutions are reluctant to put new money into general partnerships as they struggle with adverse market conditions and a fiscal framework that remains badly in need of refurbishment.

Part Two of Joe Bartlett's in-depth analysis of the prospects for private equity in emerging economies outlines an action plan designed to create the right environment to stimulate a viable venture capital investment culture.

A funding gap is threatening the German Mittelstand, and private equity investors will not find it easy to help bridge it. But those with an appetite for difficult deals will find attractive opportunities, writes Nicholas Lockley.

The secondary market for private equity positions seems no longer to be a niche part of the industry: large funds look set to be matched by like-sized portfolios for sale. So how big is the market? And how's it going to evolve? Philip Borel investigates.

Chris Brotchie is the CEO of Baring Private Equity Partners, one of the largest private equity firms active in emerging markets around the world. He likes process, systems, rules: surely the antithesis to investing in markets where procedures change every day, systems are overthrown and rules depend on who's in charge. Is this where BPEP wants to be and how does it work, asked Private Equity International.

The terms and conditions in partnership agreements that in the late 1990s remained rather obscure, are now receiving much more scrutiny. David Snow lays out some of the terms that are on the minds of worried limited partners.

With large corporations increasingly keen to outsource all non-core operations, venture capital firms are playing an important role in establishing India as the primary destination for Business Process Outsourcing, says Ricky Morton.

This summer's unusual flurry of large LBOs showed a significant rise in debt to EBITDA ratios. Can the underlying businesses support the amount of leverage they have taken on?

Here's an idea: how about setting up an early stage investment and advisory business focusing on the technology sector? And by the way it's going to be dedicated to Latin America. Sound like a recipe for disaster? Then why have hard-nosed giants like IBM, Bechtel and Amerada Hess joined up with emerging markets private equity and mezzanine provider Darby to do just that?

News: People 2002-09-01 Staff Writer CD&R makes European appointmentUS buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has hired Olivier Cognet for the firm's European operations based in London. Cognet is a former director of strategic business development at Cisco Systems' Europ

News: Funds 2002-09-01 Staff Writer Blackstone closes record fundThe Blackstone Group has closed its fourth private equity fund, having received $6.45bn in limited partner commitments. BCP IV is the largest private equity fund raised to date. The fundraising, in part facilitate

News: Deals 2002-09-01 Staff Writer LBOs take centre stageThe second half of 2002 promises to deliver an upswing in European LBO transactions, following a record level of activity in July which saw the value of LBOs outstrip both previous quarters in 2002. A total of €15bn was

Away from the mainstream 2002-09-01 Staff Writer Looking at this issue of Private Equity International, you'd be forgiven for thinking that we wanted to make some kind of statement about private equity's continuing appetite for the unconventional. In Privately Speaking, Chris Brotchie of BPEP talks about how

News: Buyside 2002-09-01 Staff Writer ANTS winds down private equity unitAbbey National Treasury Services (ANTS), the wholesale banking operation of UK mortgage lender and retail bank Abbey National, is winding down its private equity investment division. According to a market