Erin Griffith

Susquehanna Growth Equity has led an $18 million first round commitment to Plimus, Inc, peHub has learned. The firm will announce the deal tomorrow. The business has grown to its current size since its start in 2001 with no outside investment until now. Susquehanna, an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group of companies (SIG), is the […]

Smith Whiley & Company, a middle market mezzanine fund, is in the midst of raising its third fund, with $90 million in commitments so far. The firm, based in Hartford, Conn., with an outpost in Chicago, is targeting $200 million, a $90 million increase from its second fund. Considering the attraction of mezzanine debt in […]

* Looking for detailed info on the Clear Channel debt? FT-owned news service Debtwire has some detailed info on lead arranger Citigroup’s pricing. * Anyone know what ever came of this case? It’s the 57-page collusion lawsuit against about 15 of the biggest LBO shops from February. You may remember, it even had a hilarious […]

Some were surprised, but the deal that wouldn’t die has finally left the building. But look at Penn National Gaming’s stock. A failed merger usually doesn’t garner a leap in share price to the tune of 10% plus. (Though considering the spread on this one, maybe.) But a fat $225 million breakup fee, plus Centerbridge […]

Finally, my take on the one thing bloggers, finance reporters, Missouri politicians and beer drinkers can’t get enough of this summer—Anheuser Busch. God knows there’s been plenty of speculation. But hear me out. I want to talk about the theme parks. Even before InBev entered the picture, there’s been rumors about the potential sale of […]

***Publicis Groupe bought Kekst & Company. In true PR fashion, no financial details were revealed in the press release (here) but it looks like Publicis views the firm as a crown jewel. “There simply is no other financial communications firm in the world like Kekst and Company,” Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said the release. Its […]

* Tom Wolfe wrote a fictional book about Wall Street, it doesn’t make him an economist, even though it makes a nice lede for Andrew Ross Sorkin’s essay on Wall Street’s current state of affairs. I take issue, really, with only one line in the essay: And yet, there has been a perverse, and misguided, […]

As the private equity industry matures, PE firms bat around terms like “operational expertise” and “value add” as a way to distinguish themselves from the sea of competitors, and also justify their existence. (If you’re not adding something, what exactly are you all doing?) But what do those terms even mean? And further, how do […]

Milestone Partners is raising its third fund, according to a regulatory filing. The Pennsylvania-based lower middle market PE firm has a target of $240 million, which is double the size of its last fund (raised in 2004). According to the filing, dated April 7, 2008, Milestone Partners III LP had accumulated $103.1 million in commitments […]

***The FT’s Henny Sender wrote a story on the potential for PE firms to not call down all of their committed capital. It may not be a revolutionary idea, but it is a scary one, for both LPs and GPs. I addressed the topic after Terra Firma’s Guy Hands suggested it in a letter to […]