Erin Griffith

Elliot Spitzer Has A New Job: He's now an online columnist for Slate. This is sure to generate giant eyerolls and tons of begrudging readership. Brilliant marketing move for the online magazine, I say. Winner: Neuberger Berman has sold to, itself! Management and senior employees won the auction. Realogy: What its basement level bond prices mean for the company's solvency. Leaked: Kleiner Perkins accidentally published 588 iFund Applications online. Shouldn't VC guys have their sh*t together on tech-y stuff like this? Either way, big oops. Truckin: The Big Three CEOs had to drive to their hearings this time, after outrage over the whole private jet debacle. Dealzone suggests some roadtrip tunes.

The recent spate of reported layoffs are generating fear in the minds of PE pros everywhere, except in the halls of one firm, which is actually hiring. That firm is Sun Capital Partners. Known as a turnaround investor, Sun has plans to hire one managing director in Europe after recently hiring VP there and moving […]

The ability to source a deal isn't much to brag about these days, with only the rarest of deals actually getting completed. Look no further than Carlyle Group, which is laying off 100 employees, a including a number of its deal team members, for proof. The decline in deals is apparent in a report released by PitchBook Data: For the first three quarters of 2008, there were 1,302 completed deals, a 33% decline from the 1,936 deals over the same period a year ago. Still, 1,302 deals is nothing to sneeze at, and there are plenty of firms out there striking deals, just at a much, much slower pace than, say, two years ago. I believe the phrase I keep hearing is "Ten times more work for one tenth of the results." In the report, PitchBook lists the top 50 most active private equity firms year to date. Guess what? Layoff-burdened Carlyle Group is listed as number three! (However I think they've now been passed by Sun Capital, as the firm told me it's done 23 deals this year, not 19 as PitchBook reports.) Follow the jump to see them all.

When I ask sources "What firm has been battered the worst by the economic mess," I almost always get the same answer: Apollo Management. To better understand why that is, I've created a list of the firm's recent failures, broken down into strategy missteps and ugly deals. On Strategy: 1. Apollo companies are the most active PIK-togglers. Seven of Apollo's portfolio companies have toggled their PIKs and another four have the option to do so. According to a list made by Buyouts' Ari Nathanson, that is by far the most PIKs for any one sponsor. Toggling a PIK substitutes debt payments with more debt, and the move is largely seen as prolonging the inevitable, and a bad sign in a credit crunch. Among them: Berry Plastics, Claire's Stores, Metals USA Holdings, Momentive Performance Materials, Realogy, Rexnord Holdings and Harrah's. See a full chart here. (sub req.) 2. Apollo missed the bottom on distressed debt. In March, the firm began aggressively buying up leveraged loans that they viewed as undervalued, including bonds of their own portfolio companies. At the time, loans were trading at unprecedented low prices averaging

All day we’ve been hearing rumors of layoffs at American Capital, and the firm earlier this evening announced that it plans to cut around 110 jobs and shut down two offices. The press release didn’t say which offices, but we heard from the rumor mill that likely targets are Boston, Chicago or one of the […]

Broken PIPE Dreams: The Deal looks at PE's relationship with banks, and it's a negative one. But Everyone Else Is Having Problems Too: The Harvard Crimson highlights the impact the economy is having on other Ivy League colleges and their endowments. Annnnd I Can't Help Myself: The Crimson's top story made me chuckle: members of Yale's marching band have been reprimanded for erecting a faux Berlin Wall covered in profanity and tearing it down with a missile evoking a phallus during a game. Speaking of Ivy League: Harvard's investment portfolio "looks like it was chosen by someone who watched a few episodes of CNBC's Squawk Box and heard that the hot new investments were emerging markets, commodities, and private equity." Ouch. Also On Slate: Daniel Gross names the world's worst banker, and its not Fuld or Cayne.

We Are Aware: BusinessWeek takes its turn going at Sun Capital and Cerberus for Mervyns. Why is this suddenly news again? However, it's a good in-depth look from another perspective on what sorts of measures desperate companies really take. The author wraps it up with signs of regret over the LBO. Speaking of Sun: We saw the firm divest a few of Kellwood's brands, including Hanna Andersson, a brand the company had only bought a few years ago. But we didn't realize it sold the businesses to another Sun portfolio company! Is that even legal? Stocking Stuffers: Alan, Ben and Henry stress balls. Squeeze the Banker. Safe Haven: When it looks like even private equity is getting in on the layoff act, there's one place that's safe. It's law firms. The place everyone jokingly "escapes" from.

Could the active secondary market ruin the primary fundraising market for next year? It's a long shot, but so was missing capital calls, we thought. The question was posed by Mac Hofeditz of Probitas Partners at the recent Buyouts West conference, based on a thesis that secondaries are too cheap to pass up. Why would you pay full price for a piece of Carlyle Partners V when you can get exposure to the same managers in Carlyle Partners IV at a deep discount? Think about it. Just two years ago, secondary buyers were paying premiums for access to top-tier firms like they were memberships to exclusive clubs, said John Poerink of LJH Linley Capital. Now, it's open enrollment season, and at bargain prices. For example, The Financial Times and Bloomberg this morning reported discounts as high as 50% and 65% on funds from

Bonus Weekend Edition. Welcome back to those of you who, like me, didn't work on Friday. Hollow Bullishness: The Economist isn't impressed by the "butch subculture" of private equity and predicts the industry will have to "admit its sins." On The Other Hand: Carl Icahn explains his attraction to secondary debt (who isn't at these prices) and points one positive of PE. Meanwhile: A predicted $130 billion-plus in LP stakes is expected to change hands on the secondary market in the next two years, according to FT. Neuberger: More bumps in the road for the NB sale, according to Megan Davies at Dealzone. Stay tuned tomorrow to see if any last minute bids appear on the deadline of the 45-day post-bankruptcy auction process.

Losers: Twenty global moguls who have gotten creamed in the recent economic collapse, including Schwarzman (#18), India and Russia's respective richest men, and Buffet. Lawsuits Against PE Firms: In addition to the one Dan reported on today, Apax is also getting sued. By its own co-founder, who claims he’s been denied payment since 2001. After Yesterday’s Beating In The Press: A Permira partner told the FT retail and leisure LBOs will need a “mathematical miracle” to retain any equity value. Rebranding: The automakers want to change the name of their bailout to the taxpayer friendlier “bridge loan,” or even “line of credit.” Are bridge loans and lines and credit given in times of extreme financial emergencies?