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Reuters Blogs – It seems that private equity fund sales are heating up so much they need their own market.
SecondMarket said today it is opening trading in limited partnership interests in private equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds and fund of funds (the intention to launch into this market was reported a few weeks ago by our sister publication peHUB).
The firm also hired Jeffrey Bollerman, previously at Citigroup Wealth Management, to help lead its LP interest market.
Times Online – Oaktree Capital Management, a specialist investor that targets heavily indebted companies owned by buyout groups, has sealed its first big investment in Britain.
The American-based Oaktree, which has just under €1.8 billion (£1.6 billion) to spend on distressed European companies, said on Tuesday that it had signed a deal to buy a large stake in Countrywide, the estate agency chain taken private for £1 billion at the height of the buyout boom by Apollo, the US private equity fund.
The deal, in which lenders to Countrywide will write off nearly £600 million of its debt mountain, will raise hopes that distressed investors could begin to make an impact on Britain’s stalled buyout market.
Reuters – Daiwa Securities Group Inc, Japan’s second-largest brokerage, said that it would drop its plans for a large private equity fund after talks with Blackstone fell through.
Daiwa had been in talks with private equity firm Blackstone Group LP to form a fund targeting Asian companies, Daiwa Securities Chief Executive Shigeharu Suzuki told Reuters on Tuesday.
Suzuki said in August that the brokerage was aiming for a 500 billion yen ($5.4 billion) fund to diversify its revenue sources.
"Now we are looking at funds as large as 20 billion yen to 30 billion yen," he said on Tuesday
"It is difficult to collect 500 billion yen in private equity fund in this environment," he added.
Daiwa had been aiming to form a big fund with Blackstone which has expertise in this area, Suzuki said.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – After being awarded $2.5 billion in allocation for investment in private equity, hedge fund manager Finvest Asset Management, announced the launch of a private equity initiative. Finvest is also separately dedicating $300 million to a fund of funds.
The $2.5 billion capital allocation to Finvest is being made by a European family office seeking to increase its exposure in the private equity space.
Targeting companies which are listed on the main boards in Northern American and European markets, the fund will seek to allocate capital to between 25 and 100 companies, with each allocation ranging in a value of between $10 million and $250 million.
The new fund’s time horizon will be between 3-5 years, although liquidity will be an important criterion assessing risk. Companies below a $200 million market capitalization will not be discounted, however, the fund will be favorably disposed towards companies with higher market capitalization levels, and which exhibit a high percentage of outstanding shares. The model which is being applied by Finvest is slightly different to the typical private equity structure, which generally would consider stakes in private companies which are not listed and perhaps seek to extract value through an IPO.
The team at the Finvest Private Equity fund indicated that their due diligence turn around period is quite aggressive. "While we are not looking to cut corners on due diligence, we are looking to fast track the allocation process, so that we can take advantage of a market which has been beaten to shreds," said Finvest portfolio strategist Mayer Greenwald.
"We do not have an agenda to take control or necessarily secure a controlling interest in the firm. We typically would base an interest in a company on the fact that management know what they are doing, and understand their area of endeavor better than others. Our philosophy is to provide company management with additional capital, and give them the opportunity to continue running with the ball. Obviously, we appreciate regular feedback on progress or challenges which are being faced in the industry," Greenwald concluded.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Morrison & Foerster LLP is announced the election of ten new lawyers into their partnership, including specialists in venture capital, hedge funds, bio-technology, patents, corporate transactions and chapter 11 bankruptcy, among others. Their election is effective January 1, 2009.
“We have elected an exceptional group of lawyers to the partnership. This year’s newly elected partners reflect continued investment in our distinguishing practice strengths and our international reach,” said Keith Wetmore, Chairman of Morrison & Foerster. “Our new partners have demonstrated a commitment to client service and legal excellence. We are confident that they will make tremendous contributions to our clients’ success and our Firm’s progress in the years ahead.”
Elected as Partner Thomas M. Devaney, a member of the Business Department, will be resident in the New York office. Devaney specializes in private equity fund formation and investment, representing a variety of domestic and international private equity funds, including real estate funds, venture capital funds, and debt funds, in addition to hedge funds with a broad range of investment strategies.
The other lawyers elected as Partners are; Anders T. Aannestad, Jonathan Bockman, Christopher B. Eide, James M. Halstead, Rebekah Kaufman, David E. Melaugh, James J. Mullen III, Ph.D., Norman S. Rosenbaum, and Ivan G. Smallwood, a resident in the Tokyo office.
