February 2003 Issue

Fund Activa Capital Fund FCPR Firm Activa Capital Amount Raised €90m Fund Type Buyout Amount Targeted €150m Status First closing Investors Hermes Investment Management, Geographical Focus France AG2R, Finnish Local Government Sectoral Focus Business services, food & drink, Pensions Institution, Partners Group, media, retailing, and manufacturing Proventure and Scottish Widows sectors Fund Lead Equities I […]

For Western fundraisers with the right connections the Middle East has been an attractive destination for the past 25 years. Political uncertainty notwithstanding, private equity's prospects in the region remain strong, writes Natasha Berg.

Leveraged financiers are bracing themselves for another challenging year. Senior lenders remain focused on fundamentals and the recovery of the high yield market is taking time, with buyers and sellers quarrelling over structural issues. Robin Burnett takes the pulse of the European leveraged debt market.

Limited partners' search for liquidity in private equity has provided structured product specialists with their best opportunity yet to prove they can change the face of the asset class. Expectations are running high, but what's needed next is evidence that private equity securitisation really works. Now is the time for the industry to deliver the deals. Philip Borel reports.

Fundraising in 2003 will remain every bit as tough as it was last year, especially for first-time funds. Investors are taking extra care with their money, but compelling propositions will still attract investment, across the spectrum of private equity and even venture strategies. Nicholas Lockley reports.

The loan market is changing shape not only thanks to the perennial forces of supply and demand but also because the banks are increasingly marking their loan books to market. The Deal Mechanic has a look under the bonnet of what some used to regard as the raciest part of the market: the leveraged loan.

Since 1985, Stephen Schwarzman has guided his New York financial services powerhouse, The Blackstone Group, from success to success. His secret? Hard work, smart hires, fanatical attention to detail, and knowing when to turn off the charm and start busting heads. He talks to David Snow.

In-kind distributions remain a popular way for GPs to send value back to their investors. But LPs should be aware of the pitfalls and red flags inherent to this distribution method, writes Simon Sheppard.

David Snow, Editor in Chief of PrivateEquityCentral.net and one of the industry's most seasoned commentators, is joining Private Equity International as Editor (Americas). It's a bit of a cliché, but private equity, already a global business, is becoming more and more international. Many buyout and venture capital firms are already operating on more than one […]

America Monitor Leaders of the fee world The management fee now finds itself the subject of some hostility. Investors question whether this particular fee, as we know it today, is a valuable aspect of the partnership agreement. But if LPs are grumbling, it is mostly to themselves, finds David Snow. The lowly management fee is […]

Europe Deals & Exits Klesch buys Dynegy's European unit UK distressed specialist Klesch & Company has bought Dynegy's entire European broadband unit as the struggling US telecoms company exits the European market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “We believe that the European telecommunications arena may be bottoming out,” said Gary Klesch, chairman of […]