December 2002 / January 2003 Issue

IRR: a reminder Staff 2003-01-01 Writer More and more practitioners may now be recommending that a fund's Internal Rate of Return should only be one of a set of analytical tools used to evaluate private equity performance, and that these tools as a group are complements, not substitutes, for ?s

Hard hit by the market downturn, private equity funds of funds everywhere are bracing themselves for a period of sector consolidation, and the Swiss houses are right in the thick of it. Nicholas Lockley reports.

Paris, 5 November. Six investors in private equity who are due to speak at Super Investor 2002 over the next two days have taken time out to participate in Private Equity International's inaugural European LP roundtable. Stefan Marelid, Jonny Maxwell, Rhonda Ryan, Rod Selkirk, John Shearburn and Sasha van de Water have come along to swap notes, tips and war stories.

Sitting down with the buyside Staff 2003-01-01 Writer We've been keen to run an LP roundtable ever since we launched the magazine. A frank exchange of views between investment professionals who eat, drink and sleep private equity - what better way to find out what really moves the buyside?

Fund Fünfte MPC Global Equity Fund Firm MPC Capital Amount Targeted €50m Fund Type Fund of funds Investors German HNWIs Status Launched Advisors Global Vision Private Equity Partners Geographical Focus Global Sectoral Focus Balanced private equity and venture capital Fund Next Level, LP Firm Brilleon Capital AG Sectoral Focus Multi-stage investment in biotechnology Fund Type […]

The European mid-market is already one of private equity's most popular sectors, and operators are preparing for an even stronger buyout season in 2003. Unless economic fundamentals change, a growing number of small- and mid-cap company owners are going to run into problems that will make a private equity solution more attractive - if not inevitable. Robin Burnett finds out how private equity firms are looking to benefit from this.

Switzerland's corporates and mid-cap companies are slowly but surely turning to private equity amid increasing economic pressures and a tightening supply of credit. Natasha Berg looks at where the Swiss buyout market will be headed in 2003.

In private equity acquisitions, invoking the material adverse change clause, or MAC for short, to pull a deal has been a significant but implicit threat. Recently though the gloves have come off more readily than usual as still bleak market conditions and far tougher deal financing prevail.

The total return swap has been used across a host of asset classes, letting one party secure stable returns whilst the other can acquire exposure to volatile but possibly far superior returns. Could it be done in private equity? To a growing number of advisers, the answer is yes.