November 2003 Issue

The energy business is not an area where outsiders tend to do well. From California to Azerbaijan, investors who lack an inside edge frequently get left in the cold. David Leuschen is one of those on the inside. In 2000, after 22 years in Goldman Sachs' energy group, Leuschen and partner Pierre Lapeyre partnered with The Carlyle Group to create an energy-focused investment firm. Riverstone currently has approximately $1bn under management. We spoke with Leuschen about his history in, and passion for, the sprawling energy sector.

Fund SGAM/4D Global Energy Development Capital Fund Firm 4D Global Energy Advisors Amount Raised $81m Fund Type Private equity Amount Targeted $150m Status Final close Investors Société Générale Asset Management Geographical Focus Global Advisors Global Private Equity (P), Dillon Sectoral Focus Oil and gas Eustace (L), White & Case (L) Fund Eurofund Four Firm 3i […]

The stock market crash and its aftermath brought into sharp focus the potential liabilities faced by private equity firms. But as they seek out the protection offered by insurance, they are finding the cost of cover can be prohibitive. Will Swarts reports.

The rebounding US high yield debt market is providing ready financing for leveraged buyout transactions on both sides of the Atlantic. Alex J. Stockham surveys the junk bond environment.

Depending on who you talk to, Europe's high yield market is either still struggling or is set to grow into something far deeper and broader. Certainly this year's performance has caught the eye of numerous investors, and many practitioners can now talk about distinct facets to the market. But what will shape high yield's evolution? And what part will the private equity community play in this? Robin Burnett investigates.

A brief summary of activity in the four main venture capital markets within the Nordic region.

Institutional investors are intent on helping the Nordic venture market put the past behind it and maintain a supply of finance to young companies that are strong enough to survive.

New players arrive every year, existing firms are keen to expand their operations and the quality of advisers is acknowledged to be first class. But with deal flow drying up, could the Nordic buyout market fall victim to its own hype? Andy Thomson reports.

The US venture capital industry got an early boost from military men. Udayan Gupta profiles General Georges Doriot, who returned from World War II to create the first modern US venture capital fund.

Thanks to the phenomenal growth of the technology industry, venture capital has now permanently captured the imagination of investors, as well as the allocations of most major US institutions. It wasn't always this way. David Snow catches up with five old-school venture capitalists who invested during an era when dollars were few and awareness of technology as a business opportunity was embryonic.

America's venture capital industry thrives in a handful of regional hubs hard-wired for entrepreneurialism and technological innovation. Art Janik takes a tour of these venture capital hotbeds and discovers a collection of communities gradually but solidly recovering from the excesses of the 1990s.

Is the global telecommunications sector ripe for the kind of disruptive innovation that early stage investors thrive on? Giuseppe Curatolo, a London-based venture capitalist, pursues an answer.

Venture capital investment in technology is an increasingly international business, practised most successfully by US venture groups. Their European peers are finding it tough to keep up. As the market downturn draws to a close, Europe's venture capitalists are attempting to map out globally competitive strategies. Does the road lead one way only: to the US market – and to NASDAQ? By Philip Borel.

Environmental due diligence in the UK has come a long way from being wholly focused on a target company's potential liability for contamination. But are private equity firms aware of its transformation? And, if so, are they prepared to embrace a more comprehensive service? By Andy Thomson.

Texas buyout heavyweight Hicks Muse has for years owned a major stake in US radio and billboard conglomerate Clear Channel. Some of the firm's LPs are getting restless. David Snow tunes in on a classic LP-GP debate over holding periods, management fees and alignment of interest.

Teresa Barger is in charge of the International Finance Corporation's $1bn fund of private equity funds investment programme. Not only is the IFC distinctive for being part of a supranational agency (the World Bank), but it is also dedicated to promoting private equity in emerging markets: not the easiest of places for an investor hoping to see a meaningful return from its activities. Barger explains to Philip Borel why the rewards of investing in these parts of the world are worth the extra risk.

In a complex LBO such as the recent acquisition of Linpac, syndicating the debt sometimes turns out more difficult than expected. For the lead arranger, this can be an unpleasant surprise.

Private equity funds of funds matter: they have a huge amount of capital to deploy, they offer investors diversified exposure to the asset class and they can turn a fundraising from a long walk into a swift gallop for a GP. But change is in the air amongst this community. Private Equity International finds out what's happening, why and who is involved.

The worst is over Staff 2003-11-01 Writer There is a new mood spreading across the world's technology markets: venture capitalists are beginning to feel better. Practitioners in both Europe and North America, after three years of concentrating mainly on damage limitation, have started to look f