Erin Griffith

The Problem With Corporate Boards: I tend to agree with Footnoted.org and the authors of a new book called "Money for Nothing," that boards of directors often seem to take up time and space and provide little value to shareholders, even as they collect hefty salaries for what can charitably be called a part-time job. (Footnoted) Art Imitates Life: Speakeasy, a blog run by WSJ, has a great story on the actor who plays David Wallace, the CFO of Dunder Mifflin, in The Office. Turns out he's a real life investment banker at a wealth management advisory firm in L.A. This interview on his double life is pretty great. (Speakeasy) 50-1!: Berkshire Hathaway received approval for a giant stock split. (Dealbook) But there's also another stock split Buffet doesn't want to talk about. (24/7 Wall Street) Big Story: Today was the Obama financial reform package. Mean Street has a nice linkbait-y post titled "Obama is Killing America by Killing Wall Street." Melodramatic, but I'll bite. (Deal Journal) One MBA Candidate's Agenda. Apparently he isn't going to business school just for a job. I'm confused. (BusinessWeek)

It's taken more than a year, but Solamere Capital is finally closing its debut fund. According to a source familiar with the situation, the firm will hold a final close later this month on a bit more than its $200 million target. Tagg Romney, the son of Bain Capital founder and once/future presidential candidate Mitt Romney, formed Solamere with a varied crew of co-founders. They include: Spencer Zwick, the director of finance on Mitt Romney's campaign; John Miller, the former CEO of National Beef Packing Co; and Eric Scheuerman, formerly of Jupiter Partners. The firm also hired Allan Dowds, the former CFO of J.W. Childs Associates.

The IPO window may close, but you can relax: The strategic exit isn’t dead. Today, New York-based Charterhouse Group sold Amerifit, a nutritional supplement platform, to Martek Biosciences, a listed, Maryland-based biosciences company, for $200 million. The exit returns money to Charterhouse Equity Partners IV LP, a $447 million pool raised in 2004. It marks […]

Glocap and Thomson Reuters released their private equity compensation report this week, but unlike last year, they're not sharing even a tiny bit of detailed information beyond the press release. A bit frustrating since peHUB is also published by Thomson Reuters, but here's the most interesting tidbits we can report: -Growth in private equity salaries has officially stopped. Abruptly even. You may remember last year that, despite market turmoil and massive layoffs in the finance sector, buyout firms still managed to give themselves raises. That's no longer the case, Glocap has found. "While some funds are keeping compensation flat, the net result is that compensation across all segments of the market is trending down," the report states. That includes venture firms, buyout shops, growth investors, and funds of funds.

Even though some are calling Kraft's deal for Cadbury a sweet one, to private equity firms, it tastes like sour grapes. In light of Kraft's generous use of leverage, the Private Equity Council, a PE advocacy group, released an analysis that can best be described as a vindictive "toldja so." And they're right, and they did tell us so, but still. The PEC's research that shows Kraft, a strategic buyer, will use more leverage (gasp!) on its deal for Cadbury than private equity did in the boom-era. For shame! According to the PEC, Kraft's leverage ratio is 24% higher than the average debt-to-cash flow ratio for large buyout deals between 2005 and 2008. The Counsel said:

Oracle and Obama: Massachusetts voters may have had it with some of the Obama administration's policies. But it appears that Obama still has a fan in Omaha. (Deal Journal) Should Private Equity Be Investing in Residential Real Estate? Time thinks not. (Time) Looking to "Capitalise": Blackstone has applied for a British banking license. (Reuters) Fireworks: Cisco, Twitter See More Technology Takeovers for 2010. (Bloomberg) Amazing: Gary Fencik, once a hard-hitting safety with the Chicago Bears and now a partner with Adams Street Partners, turned down a chance to join some of his 1985 Bears' teammates in reprising their well-known "Super Bowl Shuffle" rap song and video for a Boost Mobile ad. (PE Beat) What Wall Street Really Fears: That Lloyd Blankfein, "the least-appealing CEO on Wall Street is leading the effort to change the public perception that the system is rigged against the little guy suffering through 10 percent unemployment while the big banks party on." (Daily Beast)

Steep Climb to Mt. Kellet: A Star Goldman banker's struggle is showing "how tough it can be for hot-shot Wall Street bankers to strike out on their own as investors, especially in volatile Asia." (Reuters) Crazies on the Internet: A profile of VC-backed Yelp in Inc. magazine begins with a ridiculous story of one shopowner going mad over Yelp reviews, taking the fight from the internet to the streets (really). (Inc.) Want to Feel Old? Here's a list of "Timeline twins." For example, Listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller today is equivalent to listening to Elvis Presley's first album (1956) at the time of Thriller's release in 1982. (Kottke) The Downfail of Dykstra: At least his creditors can't take away his nickname: Nails. (Business Insider) $$$: NY financiers to reap $64 bln in bonuses in 2010 (Reuters) It's Worse There: UK Buyouts Hit 25-year Low As Debt Dries Up - Study (WSJ)

The answer is not many. Back when this chocolatey drama began, we speculated that private equity’s biggest role in the deal may be to snap up a few divestitures. With a deal of this size (£11.5 billion, $19.5 billion), it seemed there’d be plenty, especially if you look at past precedent. Thanks to Anheuser Busch’s $52 billion sale to InBev, post-merger divestitures actually drove private equity activity in 2009. AB-Inbev scrambled to unload corporate orphans as a way to raise money to pay down the massive debt it took on for the merger; as a result, AB-Inbev divestitures made up three of the ten largest private equity deals of 2009. You’d think Kraft and Cadbury, striking in January what may be the largest deal of the year, would have a similar plan. According to Kraft's executives, that’s not the case at all.

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. IDC (Interactive Data Corporation), is reviewing strategic alternatives. The listed company has a market cap or almost $2.7 billion and is majority-owned by Pearson. The FT, which Pearson also owns, reported that Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Carlyle Group are interested bidders. Argon ST, a listed defense industry tech services company, has not moved forward its sale process since it hired Stone Key Partners last fall, dealReporter.com reported. However, Reuters reported that the company is being circled by a number of suitors. Brown's Chicken & Pasta, an Illinois-based restaurant operator, is seeking buyers for its three locations. General Motors Corp. is seeking a buyer for its Nexteer Automotive Steering and Driveline Operations, based in Sagnaw, Michigan.

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 peHUB Returns to New York - Shindig in Three Weeks Enhanced Equity Raising Fund Two Video Q&A With Accel's Jim Breyer Blackstone Will Raise Year's Largest & Most Underwhelming Fund Roark Capital Cools to Financial Services, Cuts DeAngelo Kleiner Perkins In the Media Spotlight TA Associates In Hyperactive Mode This Year Do FDIC's Private Equity Guidelines Apply Or Not? Unleash Entrepreneurs From Obamanomics To Create More Jobs PE Debt Watch (Upgrades and Downgrades) Why Invest in oneforty and the Real-Time Web? CalPERS Dumps A Ton of Docs CalPERS Doc Dump Part 2 Laundry Room Chronicles: Chatting CalPERS A New Stewart Alsop? It's Official: The Secondary Market Slumped in 2009 Cleantech Investor? We Need Your Insights Founder Spotlight: Grockit's Farbood Nivi