September 2009 Issue

Why ambitious Shanghai is hoping for greater clarity on China's opaque fund structuring rules

A private equity firm is trying to force the portfolio company of a rival investor into Chapter 11. It's a risky move

Philanthropists Jon Huntsman and Robert Gay will donate their gains to charity

The market crash has revealed a unique vulnerability in the asset class

Accessing debt finance is becoming so protracted that mid-market firms are underwriting their own deals

Junior lenders have been forced to appreciate the difference between US and UK bankruptcies

Why BC Partners' investment in Office Depot is not just a $350m punt

Like its departing chairman, Hellman & Friedman's new chief executive has brains and charisma

Signs of increased appetite for high yield have come at just the right time

State backing for venture capital is certainly welcome, but let's be realistic about the results

The world this month 2009-09-01 Staff Writer PLACEMENT BAN PROPOSED The US Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled proposed rules that would, among other restrictions, ban private equity firms from hiring placement agents to raise money from public pensions. Th

Want Milken's advice? 2009-09-01 Staff Writer It may not be quite as catchy a title, but the man who earned himself the label of Junk Bond King in the 1980s is rebranding himself the SME advice king. Michael Milken was the pioneer of the high yield bond market who gained infamy following his imprisonment in

Too much transparency can be dangerous 2009-09-01 Staff Writer Suffering from terminal illness, Jericho Ainsley is about to blurt some very important secrets while he still has the chance. Knowing this, someone is out to get him. But what do the secrets relate to? His political past as head of the CIA, secre

Steve staying cool 2009-09-01 Staff Writer In these tougher times for the LBO fraternity, we might have feared that some of the industry's more exalted figures would no longer attract such keen interest from gossip columnists. Such worries appear premature – although the bar may have just been raised a notch

Do private equity firms lack an eye for a bargain? 2009-09-01 Staff Writer In this issue of PEI, we take a close look at developments in the secondaries market (see page 39). One market source questioned why private equity buyers are seemingly not like high street consumers in th

VCs can still achieve exits 2009-09-01 Staff Writer The good news is that a year after it was put up for sale, Tom Perkins appears finally to have found a buyer for his super-yacht the Maltese Falcon. The co-founder of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers is reportedly about to accept a price of around $10

Out of the frying pan? 2009-09-01 Staff Writer When he quit the UK in protest at the government's introduction of more penal tax rules for wealthy individuals, Terra Firma boss Guy Hands may have been hoping for a nice, quiet, controversy-free retreat on the Channel Island of Guernsey. Hmm.

Things can only get better 2009-09-01 Staff Writer As we head into the closing months of the year, most private equity market players are possessed of something that didn't exist in the spring – hope. As you'll read in our September issue, it is hard to find anyone who believes that we

Even as the global economic crash nears its one-year anniversary, records in the private equity industry are still being broken. But not all of the new benchmarks are enviable

ASSET CLASS: FUNDS IN MARKET 2009-09-01 Staff Writer NAME OF FUNDNAME OFFUNDGEOGRAPHICTARGETSTATUSMANAGERTYPEFOCUSSIZE21 Centrale Partners IV21 Centrale PartnersMid-MarketsWestern Europe€500mFirst close on €200m inJuly 20093TS CEE Fund III3TS Capital PartnersGrowthCentral and Eastern Europe€200mLaunchedAbraa

As governments pump money into the financial system, views differ as to the likely effects. Dr Henning Eckermann and Tina Hagenberg argue that it's time to prepare for an inflationary environment

Limited partners have their eyes on the non-economic aspects of fund agreements as well

A pension board member in New Jersey reminds us that without better LP education, private equity could be in trouble

Deals have not been flowing in the Benelux region, but even as the macroeconomic outlook seems bleak, there could be some good news in the pipeline. Toby Mitchenall reports

Trading interests in private equity funds can be highly sensitive, especially in today's market where sellers may have to make tough compromises to get buyers to the table. James Burdett plots a path through the minefield

As illiquidity continues to plague individuals and investment funds, innovative secondary transactions are coming to the rescue. Amanda Janis looks at two secondary transaction types that may become more commonplace

These insiders recently shared their views on the future of the private equity secondaries market, and what key drivers for renewed activity will be. Here are some excerpts

Despite reports to the contrary, pieces of Harvard's private equity portfolio are still up for sale. But bidders will need to meet the endowment manager's standard for value, reports David Snow

Highlights of the secondaries market in the year to August 2009, as reported by sister website PrivateEquityOnline

Some see “non-traditional” capital as an opportunistic play, others as a sign of things to come

An expected flood of secondaries deal flow this year has failed to materialise as volatile market conditions have made pricing assets a hugely demanding task. There are tentative signs, however, of a pick-up in activity. Andy Thomson investigates

HarbourVest Partners, the Boston-based mainstay of private equity, has witnessed some major ups and downs in almost three decades of involvement in the asset class. Brooks Zug (above), Martha Vorlicek (right) and John Toomey (above right) met with Christopher Witkowsky to explain the firm's philosophy, its views on terms and conditions, and its belief that a scaled-down industry means scaled-up returns

Bob Stefanowski heads 3i's global financial services sector team. Prior to joining 3i, he spent 15 years with General Electric Capital. In addition to his sector role, he sits on the 3i Group plc management committee and is chairman and managing partner, 3i North America & 3i Asia. PEI sought Stefanowski's views on the financial services opportunity today

The buyout of Oriental Brewery is a sign that debt provision for large deals is still available from Asian banks – with Korean lenders to the fore