June 2009 Issue

Interactive video content is the next big thing in new media marketing, according to venture firms and entrepreneurs

Matilda Battersby investigates the emergence of anti-cyber crime technology and the venture capitalists netting the profits

Panama's Grupo Ecos has acquired more than a third of Colombian forestry firm Silvotecnia as it builds a stable of sustainable investments

Having bolstered its team in Nairobi, sociallyminded private equity firm InReturn is finding a significant need for investment in East Africa

Energy-focused investors are looking beyond the borders of the continent's stalwarts South Africa and Nigeria, writes Toby Mitchenall

Far from feeling the impact of the slowdown, one firm is charging ahead with growth plans

The findings of a recent survey appear to strengthen the case for portfolio diversification

Why new rules will hamper the overseas growth ambitions of Chinese companies, even though the government claims to be striving for the opposite

Why US public pensions are tightening up the rules governing the role of placement agents. By Kevin Ley

Business development company American Capital has defaulted on its debt, but Christopher Witkowsky finds it is battling hard to stave off bankruptcy

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

Two recent public offerings by private equity-backed companies have broken the long dry spell in the IPO market

Brant Maller is a veteran of the alternative investment space, having worked on behalf of private equity, real estate and hedge fund investors as a partner at law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York and served on a number of advisory boards for large public pension funds. Maller has in recent years ramped up the Alternative Investments Forum (AIF), a think tank designed to bring a higher level of education and skill to institutional investors with allocations to alternatives. Maller spoke to PEI about the AIF and the concerns of LPs in today's market

New rule – GPs need to personally commit more than they will make back in management fees

The death of boom-era leveraged buyouts may have been exaggerated

The amount of private equity cash destined for investment in the energy sector is just a drop in the ocean compared to what's needed globally. Andy Thomson reports

Swiss fund of funds manager Adveq recently demonstrated that succession planning and its execution needn't be a painful exercise

How to arrive at a list of the 20 best-positioned firms in global private equity? Below, you will find some of the reasoning that informed our decisions. You will see that we also consider potential weaknesses – making the point that even the Power Managers cannot afford to rest on their laurels

New rules governing the activity of private equity firms in Europe may be costly and pointless – but they could have been worse

HgCapital, the London-based European mid-market specialist, sees having a strong portfolio management resource as a way of freeing up its deal professionals to do what they do best. Andy Thomson met with four of the firm's senior professionals to find out more about its formula

Any publicity is good publicity. Or is it? We look at some of private equity's highest-profile image building initiatives – and find that the eventual outcomes were not always favourable

Christopher Witkowsky reveals how a conservative pension plan got caught up in a scandal

Private equity haiku* of the month 2009-06-01 Staff Writer What is in a name? “Placement agents” are frantic Proving value add QUOTABLES “Why sh

How moves by investors in Oregon and Utah highlight the shifting relationship between managers and increasingly empowered LPs, reports Kevin Ley

Unappetising sequel 2009-06-01 Staff Writer Pete Peterson, co-founder of alternative investment giant The Blackstone Group, first got into film-making last year when he financed IOUSA, a hard-hitting investigation of America's spiralling national debt. His follow-up movie has now been released – and it repre

Join the village people 2009-06-01 Staff Writer The 600 residents of idyllic village Albourne in Sussex, England enjoy a slice of quintessentially bucolic village life, surrounded by the outstanding natural beauty of the South Downs and steeped in history, with buildings dating back to the 17th century. Sinc

The power ? and the glory 2009-06-01 Staff Writer Turn to page 51 of this issue and you will find the introduction to our 20 “Power Managers”. This section of the magazine results from long deliberation on the part of the editorial team here at PEI as we sought to identify those