December 2008 / January 2009 Issue

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

PEI spoke to The Carlyle Group's David Fitzgerald about Carlyle's recent closing of a €530 million European technology fund and his thoughts on prospects in a changed investment climate

How investors can make best use of the private equity secondaries market. By Christian Diller and MarcoWulff of Capital Dynamics

Why some firms that had begun to increase their operations in Central and Eastern Europe have put their plans on hold, while others continue to see opportunities. Kevin Ley reports

Oil-rich states in the Middle East are still booming. Kevin Ley reports on a private equity landgrab

You might think Russia's reputation as an emerging private equity hotspot has been tarnished by geopolitical events. So why are GPs in the country still so confident, asks Toby Mitchenall

ASIA IN BRIEF 2009-01-01 Staff Writer Global private equity firm The Blackstone Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the W229 trillion ($183 billion) National Pension Service, to invest up to $2 billion alongside it in undervalued stocks, bonds and real estate in the K

How company succession issues are playing into the hands of private equity. Cezary Podkul reports

As Mongolia grapples with double-digit inflation and falling commodity prices, one private equity firm believes there is still plenty of value to be extracted

The shifting landscape is creating opportunities for private equity investors. SuzanneWeinstock reports on a lack of panic

The new global superpower has not been able to avoid the West's misery, but it has reserves to help it survive better

Prices may have plummeted, but many are welcoming the return of rational behaviour to the emerging Asian markets, reports Jennifer Harris

The connection between a consulting firm and a leading private equity outfit now runs deeper

While some limited partners have all but stopped making commitments, others are enthusiastically eyeing emerging markets, writes Amanda Janis

How Nordic Capital was able to defy economic headwinds with its latest fundraising

How emerging markets private equity firms can come out of current difficulties in a stronger position, by Andy Thomson

EUROPE IN BRIEF 2009-01-01 Staff Writer Japanese chemicals producer Mitsubishi Rayon will acquire Charterhouse Capital portfolio company Lucite International, an acrylics specialist, for $1.6 billion in cash by purchasing 100 percent of the company's 9.6 million outstanding shares. L

Dubai International Capital says its portfolio of European secondary buyouts is holding up well – in spite of market conditions. In November, four senior members of the firm's private equity arm met with Philip Borel to discuss their priorities in a difficult environment

Are the rules changing? Watchdogs have been sending mixed messages

Where private equity firms have exits, venture philanthropy funds have ‘graduations’. Impetus Trust recently had its first

Private equity fund managers marking their investments to market may be doing their over-allocated LPs a muchneeded favour

THIRD SECTOR IN BRIEF 2009-01-01 Staff Writer SKS Microfinance, a finance company catering for the poor, has raised $75 million from a group of investors led by Boston-based Indian investment firm Sandstone Capital. The firm says it is the world's largest private equity investment in

Lazard has managed to lure back its one-time star banker George Bilicic after just six months at KKR. Cezary Podkul reports on how it happened

A group of European venture capitalists have discovered that the industry can't wait to give its money away. Toby Mitchenall reports

Bailouts have strengthened the case for a carried interest tax hike and some private equity figures are even arguing it is a reasonable move for the new administration to make, writes ChristopherWitkowsky

Specialist providers of venture finance can find themselves in greater demand when credit is tight. Toby Mitchenall reports on a cautiously optimistic sector

NORTH AMERICA IN BRIEF 2009-01-01 Staff Writer Retail-focused private equity firmLNK has hired former Levi Strauss executive Phil Marineau as a partner, where he will join the former heads of office supply company Staples and apparel company Phillips-Van Heusen. Prior to joining Levi

Start-up D.light aims to provide cheap, safe and eco-friendly lighting to people living without electricity. But is the kerosene lamp really doomed?

A meltdown in the buyout industry may lead to an outbreak of symptoms last seen during venture capital's black plague

LATIN AMERICA IN BRIEF 2009-01-01 Staff Writer Acquisitions in Latin America are still heavily dominated by strategic players. Of the 10 largest transactions announced in the first three quarters of 2008, only one involved a private equity buyer, according to data from Mergermarket.

Blood is thicker than water in private equity, as evidenced by the number of firms where domestic relationships extend to the boardroom

A New York private equity firm has been drawn to a deposit-heavy institution, Suzanne Weinstock reports

Everyone wants to be a Greek god 2009-01-01 Staff Writer When US buyout firm Apollo Management revealed plans to expand into the real estate market earlier this year, it was confronted by a potential branding problem. Back in 1993 Apollo Management helped launched Apollo Real Estate Advisers, a real estate i

AFRICA IN BRIEF Staff 2009-01-01 Writer Tunga Management Company, a newly launched infrastructure, mining and private equity fund formed by Namibian affiliates of South African asset manager OldMutual Group, will sell a 26 percent stake in itself to a black empowerment enterprise<

Renewable energy has moved up the agenda in South Africa as power shortages have taken their toll. Andy Thomson reports on a firm using private equity backing to address the problem

KKR'sWhite House connection 2009-01-01 Staff Writer If you think KKR hiring as its head of public affairs the outgoing chairman of the Republican National Committee might blunt the firm's influence in a Democratic Washington, think again. KennethMehlman, brought on board earlier this y

How oil and wealth are flowing along an old trade route between the Middle East and Asia

Thanks for all the publicity, Sarah 2009-01-01 Staff Writer There is no doubt a variety of views on Sarah Palin among the partners of TPG Capital andWarburg Pincus. But they are surely all united in their gratitude to the former Republican vice presidential candidate for shopping at Neiman Marcus, an upscale

So, what's changed? Staff 2009-01-01 Writer “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” is the first line of Charles Dickens's novel A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens was referring to the French Revolution, an episode that may outrank recent economic developm