Erin Griffith

Today’s a big day for Silver Lake Partners. In a keynote speech  at Buyouts West, the firm’s co-founder and chairman Jim Davidson announced that Silver Lake closed its single largest investment in history. Yes, the Skype drama is officially over. The deal received its final approval from Turkish antitrust authorities, he said, and it closed […]

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. CFS Bancorp Inc. of Munster, Ind., has hired David Olson, formerly the co-head of Donald Lufkin Jenrette's financial institution's group and head of the firm's Chicago investment banking office, to explore various initiatives, according to Chicago Tribune. MGM is for sale, via Moelis & Co. (Variety) Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC hired North Point Advisors to shop pizza chain Papa Murphy's International Inc.

Deal Scoop: Buyouts reports that Genstar Capital has purchased Atenda Healthcare Solutions. (Buyouts) PE is an HR Recycling Bin: Everyone gets a second chance in the world private equity. The latest fallen idol to consider making the move? John Thain. (Reuters) Down But Not Out: Reports of private equity's imminent demise are greatly exaggerated, according to Steve Kaplan of University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. (GenEngNews) Top Stocks of the Decade: At first glance it doesn't appear any of them have private equity fingerprints, but the number one stock of the decade just bought a PE-backed company from Sun Capital. (Crossing Wall St) Apologies: Lloyd Blankfein kinda apologizes for anything Goldman Sachs has done wrong. (Cityfile) No Surprise Here: The banks aren't doing holiday parties again this year. (The conspiracy theorist in me says ‘that's what they want us to think!') (Deal Journal)

Recent enforcement activities by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reflect a renewed, more systematic and aggressive approach by federal authorities to investigating and prosecuting alleged insider trading, in particular by persons associated with private investment funds. Law firm Kirkland & Ellis explores how these will affect buyout firms in its latest report, available for downloading below.

Curious and Curiouser: Deal Professor uncovers some mysteries in the Bank of America-Merrill merger. (NY Times) And Speaking Of Crisis-Era Decisions: Felix Salmon now understands why AIG was bailed out. (Reuters) Crisis Karaoke? Lehman's collapse has literally loosened the tongues of Japanese bankers, an executive said on Tuesday. Bankers who could only communicate in Japanese are now rattling off e-mails and water cooler conversations in English, Nomura Chief Operating Officer Takeo Sumino said at the Reuters Global Finance Summit. (Dealzone) Payin' It Back: Some 15.4 million taxpayers could receive smaller (tax) refunds than they expected or owe taxes next year because they did not have enough money withheld from their paychecks as part of the Making Work Pay tax credit program, according to a report issued Monday. (WaPo) Introducing the Electrification Coalition: A group of businessmen urging the federal government to make a major investment in electric transportation. (Dealbook)

Culled from regulatory filings, here are some recent private equity and venture fundraising updates. Mesirow Financial Private Equity Partnership Fund V LP Mesirow Financial's PE arm has raised $397 million from 20 investors for its fifth fund, a 2008 vintage. The fund has a target of $900 million. Sterling Group Partners III LP Texas-based Sterling Group has raised $267 million from 44 investors toward its third fund. The vehicle has a $750 hard cap. Lazard is serving as the placement agent. The firm's last fund was a 2005 vintage with $470 million in commitments. Harbert Venture Partners II LP Harbert Ventures, a division of Harbert Management Corporation, has raised $56.275 million from 50 investors for its second venture fund. The vehicle has a $150 million target. The firm's last vehicle was a 2004 vintage with $52.4 million in commitments. Harbert Management was included in last year's "most active" dealmaking list from Pitchbook media, with 8 deals under its belt.

Soros Strategic Partners and Vulcan Capital are cashing in on their investments in wireless infrastructure company TowerCo. Morgan Stanley and Jefferies are leading the marketing efforts for a new $240 million credit facility, to be used in part as a dividend payment to Soros Strategic Partners and Vulcan Capital. No word on whether the dividend will reach fellow TowerCo investor Tailwind Capital, which got on board in 2004--when Tailwind was still Thomas Weisel. According to peHUB sister publication IFR, the facility launched last week with commitments due November 24. Pricing is at Libor plus 400bp to Libor plus 425bp, the publication reported. Soros Strategic Partners, a fund managed by Soros Fund Management, invested $30 million in Towerco in 2005. The firm also provided an undisclosed chunk of equity to Towerco alongside Vulcan Capital and Stone Tower Equity Partners in 2008 when the company spent $670 million acquiring wireless towers from Sprint Nextel. Towerco has an Ebitda of around $38 million and total leverage of 5.3x.

East Coast/WestCoast: Snoop Dogg rang the Opening Bell today. Then Maria Bartiromo asked him why he chose to get into business rather than crime. (Dealbreaker) More on The Buyout of America: An NPR interview on how private equity will cause the next great credit crisis. (NPR) The Dark Side of Incentives: They consistently backfire when efforts to boost bonuses override moral considerations. (BusinessWeek) In Case You Have an iPhone: And in case you invest, here are ten apps for you. (Business Insider) The Delevering Effect: Why KKR and BX want so many IPOs. (P&I) Apply Here: How to snag a job at Apollo, according to Apollo founder Marc Rowan. Hint: Have a degree from Wharton. (FINS)

Last week, three mid-market firms scored big exits and, get this–they were not by IPO. On Monday, Thoma Bravo scored a 4x return on its sale of Datatel to Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity. Five days later, Sun Capital made 5.25x its money selling Timothy’s Coffees to Green Mountain Roasters Inc., while Castle Harlan and its […]

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... VCs: Thousands Of Companies Will Exit Next Year... Bankers, Get Those Books Off The Shelf! Grant Thornton: Long Term Decline In U.S. IPOs PE Pro in Zany Scuffle Over Leftover Wine! Business School Theories Severely Tested VC-Backed Tagged.com Settles Spam Suit Secondary Market Notebook Exclusive: Ronnie Lott Waves Goodbye PE and VC Returns Improve, But Exits Still Lacking When Angel Capital Is Not So Angelic Where Are They Now: Atlas VCs Reemerge AdMob: What Internet Bubble? Another Time Drain For VCs: Board Seats Where Are They Now? Looking Back at Last Year's Fundraising Plans Second Market - Canary In The Coal Mine? Silbert Says Yes. Things Looking Up for Redpoint with LifeSize Sale