Erin Griffith
The Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women list is out, but representation from the American financial sector feels lackluster. Sheila Bair of The FDIC ranks high at number two (second to German Chancellor Angela Merkel). And Ho Ching of Temasek represents at eight. You could blame the paucity on particularly bad years for Erin Callan and […]
Bankrupt retailer Mervyn's is suing Sun Capital and Cerberus for pushing it into Chapter 11 with its sale-leaseback-driven LBO. We covered the method used by Mervyns’s PE backers to profit from the otherwise failed buyout by selling off its real estate, and also exactly how much money they made. It's also detailed on page 13 of Marvyns' 57-page claim, which I posted below. Depending on your outlook, you might see Sun and Cerberus’s move as either brilliant business or sheer evil. The sale-leaseback is nothing new, but doing it for hefty dividends to an already hurting company like Mervyns doesn’t exactly scream “turnaround saint.”
The What Recession? Edition: Fundraising surges, PE compensation is up, what is this, 2006? Dealscape: Perhaps we were wrong to call a slowdown for fundraising in Q4—September is only three days in and we’re already seeing a surge. LBO Wire: Salaries are actually up for PE professionals.Taking carried interest and bonuses into account, salaries for […]
John Poerink of Circle Peak Capital has left the firm to launch a private equity effort alongside James Hedges of LJH Global Investments, a Florida-based hedge fund. LJH has dabbled in buyouts but the new effort, called Linley Capital, formalizes its activity, the firm announced today. Poerink was one of two partners at Circle Peak, where he led the firm through more than $400 million worth of investments, mostly in the consumer products industry. He left to work under a more flexible investment mandate than typical middle market LBO strategies require, he told me. In a time of increasing specialization, Poerink and Hedges are doing the exact opposite of the crowd.
Today’s study: GF Data Resources first half of the year private equity study Find the report here. The study poses a handful of key credit-crunch related questions that we reporters have been asking for a year now. But instead of the vague or inconclusive answers we often get, GF DataResources has provided, concrete, measurable answers. Follow the jump for tangible proof of a "flight to quality."
Welcome Back Edition: Learning about al-Quaida, August IPO agony is over, more back to school previews, and less back to school shopping. Wall Street Journal: We’ve discussed IPOs, and we’ve discussed this August’s slowdown (IPO-wise and otherwise), and now WSJ chimes in with further proof. August’s IPO drought was the slowest month since 1995. Even […]
The third quarter isn’t officially over, but we here at PE Hub believe that Q4 effectively starts after Labor Day and wraps up around Thanksgiving. Things have been plenty slow for July and August, but according to an informal survey of investor expectations, the fourth quarter will end up on par with the first half […]
Hello? Is anyone out there? The last week of August is the slowest business week of any year, but in the gruesome year we’re having, more financial types than usual have fled to their houses in the Hamptons or Connecticut. The one person I got on the phone today gave me some great advice: If […]
Disreputable Edition: Drugs, Corporate Crime, Lies, Shaking Moneymakers and Dirty Linens Wall Street Folly: Hedge fund manager George Soros is fighting for decriminalization of marijuana. I’m confused, since pop culture and even yesterday’s “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banker” have taught me that people in finance abuse uppers, not downers. Seeking Alpha: Jason […]
Deja Vu Edition: More IPO bashing, more aging media, more Blackstone, and more PE investing in financials. And of course, my favorite take on the fake death of the real Steve Jobs. Reuters: After my IPO bashing today, more bad news. The exchanges are feeling the pain from not just a lack of new issuances, […]