Bloomberg – Thomas Lee, the billionaire buyout executive, is postponing plans to raise $400 million in an initial public offering for a fund to invest in hedge funds, two people with knowledge of thesale said.
Lee, known for making more than 10 times his money from the takeover of Snapple Beverage Corp., is delaying the sale of shares in the Lee Diversified Opportunities Ltd. fund until next year, said the people, who declined to be identified because the decision is confidential.
The 62-year-old buyout veteran was seeking to join companies such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in tapping demand among individual investors for funds that seek to outperform stocks and bonds. The delay comes as London-based Marshall Wace LLP attempts to raise 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in the largest initial public offering of a hedge fund.
“They’re struggling to get these deals done,” said Jens Peers, who helps oversee about $3.5 billion at KBC Asset Management Ltd. in Dublin and invests in IPOs. “These investments don’t perform like regular IPOs.”
