Erin Griffith

t happens when you've found the perfect target, but that target isn't quite ready to sell? Most firms would simply wait. A new firm called Succession Capital Partners plans to take a more aggressive tact. Rather than sitting on its hands, Charlotte-based Succession will provide consulting services in order to create a proprietary river of family-owned businesses. Matt Malone formed the firm in May of last year after the Hunt family of Texas disassembled its LBO arm, where he was a managing director. Instead of entering the challenging fundraising market with a first-time fund, Malone started a pledge fund, gathering soft commitments from a group of high net worth individuals for one-off deals.

Snow Whiskey! Some Wall Street traders who made it to work today hope they can't make it home. (Bloomberg) Meet Lisa Carnoy: Bank of America's "$19 Billion Woman." (WSJ) "Breast-aurant"?! Hooters is on the block. And yes, I had no idea the respectable establishment referred to itself as a "breast-aurant" but just wow. And of course, the Post could not resist a "sagging" sales comment. (NY Post) Fabulous Chaise Lounges: Dealbreaker isn't so sure John Thain will be able to handle the temptation to redecorate his new executive office at CIT. (DB) David the Raging Bull: Carlyle's David Rubenstein is speaking up once again in favor of the private equity industry. (DJ)

LA-Based buyout firm Freeman & Spogli has raised $419.2 million toward its sixth buyout fund, according to an SEC filing. The firm entered the market with FS Equity Partners VI LP last year, targeting $1.75 billion. But in the past 12 months, Freeman & Spogli has yet to hit its halfway point. In March of […]

In August, the FDIC passed a stringent set of rules aimed at making it easier for buyout firms to take control of banks. The end result, however, was so restrictive that many private equity firms basically abandoned the idea altogether. Notably, FDIC chief Sheila Bair promised to review the policy six months down the road. The PEC has called the policy counterproductive, unnecessary, and a deterrent to deal-doing. Representatives of Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group and Centerbridge Partners said the policy "retains several requirements that may make it less likely that private investors will participate in acquisitions of failed depository institutions, or that will cause them to submit lower bids than they otherwise would have submitted." And they were both right. Since then, zero bank buyouts have occurred, according to Thomson Reuters.

Fourteen months ago, Avista Capital Partners held a first close on “around $1 billion” of capital commitments for its second buyout fund. Things don’t seem to have changed much in the interim, according to an SEC filing that shows just $1.08 billion banked. We reported last fall that the firm was planning a final close […]

In Europe its 9.02.10. Ha. (Entertainment Fix) $140 1BR Affordable Snow Fort Sublet in Capitol Hill: Now available for rent! Includes Wireless internet, doorman with fez, premade snowballs. (Craigslist) Get It While You Can: The Flotation Window could slam shut on PE. (Telegraph) Paranoid optimism: PE firms "shouldn't underestimate the impact on their industry that rising populism and politicians taking whacks at banks and bureaucracies will have." (NY Times) Email Forward of the Day: Rice Student Thinks Jefferies Is "More Courteous" Than Its Counterparts And Has "The Best Corporate Culture In Town" (Dealbreaker) And here's another, more service-y take on the same topic. (Business Insider) RISKY: The key to LBOs is not a lack of risk (that would not be an LBO by nature) but less of it. (NY Times)

For the restaurant industry, a recession can mean feast or famine. For Roark Capital, the plan is to chow down. The Atlanta-based buyout firm looking both for new restaurant acquisitions and add-on to its FOCUS Brands platform, which already includes Carvel, Cinnabon, Moe's Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky's, Seattle's Best International and McAlister's Deli. Roark's $1 billion fund, which closed in 2008, is 30% deployed. I spoke with Steve Romaniello, a managing director with the firm, on being "on-trend," bidding for cheese, deal multiples, and zigging while everyone else is zagging. What's the firm's outlook for restaurant performance this year? Will sales improve? We think its going to be another difficult year. Not quite as bad as last year, but we don't expect to see meaningful improvement in many segments until we start seeing employment growth again. And no one has any idea when that will be.

A new white paper from Deloitte indicates that O&G divestitures and carve-outs could be on the rise. Several "supermajors" in the industry have announced divestiture plans in order invest in E&P activities. Meanwhile, independent oil and gas companies are looking to exit non-core domestic, international and offshore portfolios to streamline their operations. The same thing is happening in oilfield services companies. Download the white paper below:

Wall Street's Rising Stars: Ten to watch in ‘10. (Barron's) Q&A: View from the top with Tony James. (FT) New Investors Topple Masters of the Universe: Asian sovereign wealth funds and venture capitalists, rather than big firms of the past, were the most active investors last year (Wealth Bulletin) Update: The Kleen Energy plant explosion has claimed five identified casualties. The company, backed by Energy Investors Fund, won Goldman Sachs a Deal of the Year award from Project Finance. (Courant.com) Watch Your Backs Guys: Four pensioners have appeared in a German court charged with kidnapping a financial adviser they blamed for making rotten US property investments. (BBC) Tired of Complaining Customers? Ban them! That's what Tim Horton's did! (CBC News)

Here are some potential M&A ideas, rumored or official, to jumpstart your deal pipeline. Our sources are various news reports and the Buyouts “Seeking Buyers” list. For prior lists, see below. PLC Systems Inc., an OTC-traded medical device maker has hired investment advisory firm Natixis Bleichroeder to help it raise capital and examine "strategic alternatives." German cable provider Kabel Deutschland is for sale. Carlyle, BC Partners and Advent are currently in the bidding pool. Miramax is for sale, and Lionsgate is interested in it. That could change the bidding dynamics of the auction for MGM. Iteration Energy, a listed Canadian oil and gas explorer, initiated a process to explore strategic alternatives. The company engaged FirstEnergy Capital Corp and Scotia Waterous Inc as co-financial advisors to assist it in this process. Hanmi Financial Corporation's Board of Directors authorized the Company's management team to explore a broad range of strategic alternatives. Cappello Capital Corp. has been engaged as the Company's financial advisor in this process. Hanmi is parent to Hanmi Bank, which provides multi-ethnic banking services in L.A.