November 2008 Issue

Getting 80 private equity volunteers to spend the day putting the finishing touches to a new east London community centre was about more than just laying down turf; it was about sowing seeds

Entrepreneurs Foundation has spent 10 years borrowing favours from the venture capital world to build philanthropic programmes. Suzanne Weinstock reports

After the tech bubble burst in 2000, VC funds shrank dramatically – and so did their management companies. Both venture and buyout firms may now have to take a page out of that textbook as fundraising slows to a crawl. By Jennifer Harris

With banks reining in their lending, and the financial crisis seeping through to high streets around the world, where can consumers turn if they want to take out a small loan? One German company is offering peer-to-peer loans, writes Toby Mitchenall

A private equity firm hopes to cash in on the rise of the middle classes by consolidating restaurants

Funding for 25 million on low incomes

GroFin, a growth finance company aimed at medium-sized firms, is coming good, reports Matt Levin

A group of Middle Eastern investors has bought into M'Sharie, Dubai Investments' private equity arm, which immediately acquired a majority stake in Sharjah-based spray paint manufacturer Anchor Allied

Abraaj Capital is well on the way to reaching a $4bn target for its third buyout fund, despite the fact that many Middle Eastern investors are slimming down their commitments to private equity

Credit woes finally strike Asia, as a handful of big-ticket private equity deals are scrapped

Australian private equity professionals have been forced to recognise that Asia Pacific is not insulated from the world's woes – but they have faith in their market

Despite natural allegiances Barack Obama has the most financial support from private equity and venture capital

How a KKR and TPG consortium lost a bidding war withWarren Buffett for a US utility – despite offering $1.5bn more

NORTH AMERICA NEWS CONTINUEDFUNDS AND BUYSIDE Staff 2008-11-01 Writer Paladin Capital Group has closed its third homeland-security fund on $340 million. The Washington DC firm is led by former CIA head James Woolsey, as well as a former director of the US Nat

Falling valuations in the financial sector are enabling financial services-focussed private equity firms to raise more money than ever

Even ‘pristine’ LPs are taking a hard look at their commitment levels and scrambling for cash

EUROPE NEWS CONTINUEDPEOPLE Staff 2008-11-01 Writer Dublin-based Claret Capital, which invests in alternative assets on behalf of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions, has appointed Dermot Hanley and Yuki Narula as managing directors fr

Some of Eastern Europe's richest tycoons have been badly hit by market turmoil. Private equity may have a role in picking up the pieces

EUROPE NEWS CONTINUED DEAL FLOW 2008-11-01 Staff Writer London-based Central and Eastern Europe investor Mid Europa Partners has paid an undisclosed amount to purchase Lehman Brothers' 37.3 percent stake in Czech telecom provider Falcon Group. Mid Europa and Lehman were members of an

Private equity firms face the prospect of being forced to make up pension shortfalls even at firms they no longer own. Richard Garvan and Andrew Patten look at the implications of a recent UK regulatory intervention

EUROPE NEWS CONTINUEDFUNDS AND BUYSIDE 2008-11-01 Staff Writer In defiance of prevailing market conditions, Athens-listed investment group Marfin is seeking €5 billion of new capital via a private placement. The firm hopes the new money will enable it to capitalise on a co

Private equity firms are finding unprecedented opportunities in the energy sector

Legislators across Europe are about to declare war on the banking industry, and private equity is in danger of getting caught in the crossfire

Commentary on the month's hottest private equity stories by Amanda Janis, editor of sister website PrivateEquityOnline.com

When naming their firms, fund managers are seldom inventive. In a salute to creativity, PEI identifies those which have bucked the trend

PEI recently caught up with Virginie Morgon, co-head of the investment team at Paris-listed private equity firm Eurazeo, and finds her anticipating deal flow from forced divestments over the next 18 months

Panic, you fool 2008-11-01 Staff Writer Heard at a recent industry awards dinner, a leading GP misquoting the famous Rudyard Kipling poem If in order to lend it a more contemporary feel: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming you, then you cle

Understanding the crunch 2008-11-01 Staff Writer London's Evening Standard newspaper has produced a handy glossary of terms to help everyone understand the current environment a little better. Here's a few extracts: Bearmarket: a 6-

Most European leveraged finance market participants predicted 2008 would usher in more conservative transactions and protection for lenders. Standard & Poor's credit analysts TaronWade and PaulWatters find emerging evidence for this

Venture capital and the truth 2008-11-01 Staff Writer You can take Thaler Fund, the Liechtenstein-based venture capital firm, at its word. At least, that's the view of Cathal Morrow, who – inspired by 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant's argument that lying is morally wrong – spent a year avoiding

Jürgen Borchers and Lars Körner of Cologne-based funds of funds manager CAM Private Equity explain the benefits of a private equity-focussed risk management model

Gangster capital 2008-11-01 Staff Writer When it comes to public relations, private equity in Japan can't catch a break. For years the under-developed industry there was labeled hagetaka, or vultures. Last year saw the debut of a popular NHK television drama of the same name, in

Rally at Steve's place 2008-11-01 Staff Writer The photo you above here becomes more interesting when put in context. It is of US presidential hopeful Barack Obama speaking on 7 October at a high school football stadium in Abington, Pennsylvania. It is the same high school from which Blackstone Group cofound

The financial storm of the past two months has shaken the global financial system to its core. Matt Levin met three leading private equity financial services investors to ask what it will mean for the industry

BBVA Fondo de Empleo, like other Spanish institutional investors, has not long been exposed to private equity. Toby Mitchenall finds its investment manager Jose Luis Segimon bullish about prospects for the €16bn fund's allocation to the asset class

The sun will shine again 2008-11-01 Staff Writer It's capitalism's darkest hour for nearly a century, and it isn't over yet. In early October, the world held its breath as governments scrambled to rescue the banking system. Ostensibly, the scramble worked. At the time of this edition of PEI

Both the RJR Nabisco deal and the iconic book detailing its execution are widely taught across the US. What can MBA students learn from that deal 20 years ago? Matt Levin investigates

Matt Levin has a look back at the portrayal of Henry Kravis in the movie barbarians at the gate

Whatever happened to the movers and shakers in the great RJR Nabisco saga? Toby Mitchenall discovers most are still thriving