Erin Griffith

The M&A market is tepid at best, but the auction for Papa Murphy’s International Inc., a cold pizza chain owned by Charlesbank Capital Partners, is heating up. The company hired North Point Advisors in November to shop the restaurant; first round bids are expected by month’s end. The M&A market is viewing Papa Murphy’s as […]

Still Needed: A Sheriff of Finance, according to George Soros. (NYT) Blu-Ray Shams: This is Just Ballsy. If you open up a $3,500 Lexicon Blu-Ray Player, you will find an entire $500 Oppo Blu-ray player inside, intact, with its original chassis. A manufacturer actually bought the $500 model, put it inside a bigger box, and sold it for $3500. WOW. (Wired) Hope They're Not Flocking to Journalism: College freshmen are abandoning business as a major. (Inside Higher Ed via Abnormal Returns) Unmitigated Gall: Most Irony-Impaired Wall Street Research Title. Ever. (The Big Picture) Take That Main Streeters: 'Main Street' Is An Idiotic Concept, Which Doesn't Exist Outside Of Disneyland (Clusterstock) Yikes: Rosetta Stone had a successful IPO (remember, they were backed by ABS Capital) but have recently stumbled. Here's how to avoid their fate. (Dealscape)

I'm reporting from the Private Equity Analyst Outlook Conference at the Grand Hyatt in New York. Raudline Etienne, Chief Investment Officer for the New York State Common Retirement Fund, fielded some difficult questions about the fund's ban on placement agents. She explained how the NY State Common's emerging managers program will resolve the dichotomy of banning placement agents but remaining committed to new, smaller funds, which, she said, often perform the best. On emerging managers: "We looked at the ‘big boys' in our portfolio, and it's the early funds--funds one through three-that we made the most money on. So, in time we will identify the next generation of emerging managers to back." The moderator asked how the fund might reconcile that with its recent ban on placement agents, a result of the pay-for-play debacle that has played out since this summer. Young funds, with fewer resources to dedicate to fundraising, often need placement agents the most. Etienne said the firm has enacted an emerging manager program to avoid missing out on new, small funds that often need

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. Levine Leichtman Capital Partners IV, raised its offer for Rubio's Restaurants. One analyst told Dow Jones he doesn't believe Rubio's will accept the offer. He said, "continued pressure in the form of increasing its bid may force Rubio's to seek an alternative acquirer." Protection One, Inc. (Nasdaq:PONE), a leading provider of electronic security services to the residential, commercial and wholesale markets, has engaged J. P. Morgan to advise it in exploring strategic alternatives. TSX-listed Conjuchem Biotechnologies announced its exploring strategic alternatives. France-based Toreador Resources Corp. was reported to be in talks with several energy conglomerates to acquire or partner with the oil and gas company.

Man Growing Vikings Superbowl Beard Since 1974. That's gotta be one disappointed guy. Or maybe disappointed wife? However, judging by the photo, I actually expected it to be longer. (Post-Bulletin) The Vlocker Effect: The PEC tallies what effect Vlocker's new rules could have on private equity funds. (FT Alphaville) Should Your CEO Blog? Conventional Wisdom says no. New Blogger Types say yes. Which naturally means there's a third round contrarian somewhere. (Maybe your CEO Shouldn't Blog, New Comm Biz)) Speaking of CEOs: How hiring one can kill your startup. (VC Mike) Plainfield Asset Management: The fall of a hedge-fund wunderkind (Fortune) This Should Be a Given, given the whole risk/return profile thing and all, no? FT reports that returns on PE funds could beat stock performance. (FT)

The following six fundraising updates have been culled from SEC filings: vSpring Capital has raised $35 million for vSpring III from 3 investors. The venture firm invests up to $5 million in growth capital per deal. Weathergage Venture Capital Management, a VC-funds of funds manager formed by former Knightsbridge Advisors pros, has entered the market with its second fund. The firm seek $200 million for Weathergage Venture Capital II LP, with $50 million a parallel offshore fund. The firm's first fund had $250 million in commitments and closed in 2007. Cazenave & Co. is the firm's placement agent. EDG Partners, a growth and buyout oriented private equity investment firm based in Atlantia, Georgia, is raising $150 million for EDG Partners Fund II, L.P. The firm has gathered $10 million from five investors to date.

Here's a look at the last week's worth of scoops, data, and analysis from the peHUB team. Catch up on what you missed before it goes behind our paywall... All First Reads | All Second Opinions Atlas Venture Reorganizes, Fred Destin Heads To U.S. Early 2010 - Calling A Turn In The Economy Is The Tug-of-War Between VC and M&A New? Or Even Real? M&A Monday (on a Tuesday) Malcolm Gladwell Must Be Stopped Which Kraft-Cadbury Divestitures Can PE Snack On? Is There a Tipping Point in VC? Polaris Venture Partners Scales Back for New Fund Vancouver Venture Firm Is In The Game with EA Brad Briner on Fundraising: "The Problem is Not the LPs, It's the GPs" Book Report: Green Metropolis Kleiner Does 14 Deals in December, Sign of A Turnaround? PEC (Bitterly) Calls "Leverage" On Kraft Reviews Are In: TTR Execs Are As Cool As the Other Side of the Pillow PE Barons Are No Longer Filthy Stinking Rich Venture Capitalist Running for Rhode Island Treasurer Charterhouse Sells Supplement Platform, Plots Next Fund What Obama's Proposal Could Mean for Private Equity Founder Spotlight: Brightroll's Tod Sacerdoti Venture Capital: Who (Not What) Is Broken

Pulling the Plug: Goldman Sachs has moved to wind down its Global Equity Opportunities Fund - once the flagship of its prestigious set of in-house hedge funds. (FT) Interpretations: Bloomberg reports that the new banking rules may force the banks to sell their buyout units, WSJ concurs. (Bloomberg, WSJ) Dissenters: Tim Geithner does not like Obama's financial reform plan. (Dealbreaker) Rolfe Winkler: Warren Buffet has let the public down again. (Reuters) 100 Best Companies to Work For: Robert W. Baird & Co. has a "No asshole" rule. (Forbes) B-School Feuds: Apparently Wharton students plan an annual ski trip, and the Dean of Students isn't too happy about that. A student fired back a defense, and Wall Street Oasis has the email exchange. (WSO)

Following this week's report that private equity compensation is sputtering to a standstill, it's no surprise an annual informal survey from PE advisory Semaphore would concur. Semaphore runs an informal survey to cover rarely asked questions like: How confident are you in your competitors, and Do I expect to make more, less, or the same amount of money in 2009? Last year, just over half of survey respondents said they expected their compensation to rise in 2009. But this year's survey shows that that was delusional thinking-only 12% of survey respondents actually saw their salaries increase in 2009. Ouch.

As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies from ratings agencies Standard & Poor Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Service. I also wanted to say that I love the formalities of the ratings agencies, particularly when it comes to bankrupt companies. I know it’s all very serious and important and part of procedure, but it seems so obvious and silly the way that, once a company defaults, Moody’s downgrades a its “Probability of Default” rating to “Default.” Something about the redundancy of it is amusing to me. Less amusing, unfortunately, is the company I’m referring to. Building materials manufacturer Atrium Cos. filed for bankruptcy yesterday; the company was backed by golden boys Golden Gate Capital and a firm called Kenner & Co.