Erin Griffith

A media-focused buyout pro, on the quality of deal flow: We’re passing on junk – total junk. Bubble era flights of digital fancy now deflated and offered for scrap that they’re not worth.

The strategy of loan-to-own is becoming increasingly popular as more buyout pros look to the bankruptcy courts for a source of deal flow at a discount. But few are prepared to deal with the intricacies of intercreditor situations that will unavoidably arise in the process. Take the sticky situation at artificial sweetener maker Merisant Worldwide. […]

Many buyout firms would like to join the $1 billion club, and they’re so very close. Before the recession, it was almost assumed that your average-performing $700 million firm would come back to market with a $1 billion vehicle. Not the case anymore. As one LP said, “$700 million is the new $1 billion.” The latest example of this leveling-off of fund sizes is Snow Phipps Group. The New York-based buyout firm has come to market with a $700 million target for its second fund -- only a slight jump from its $620 million debut vehicle. “Everyone expected they would raise $900 million or more,” said a source familiar with the situation. Snow Phipps declined to comment. The firm was founded in 2005 and invests in middle-market companies in the specialty franchising, basic and process industries, apparel and luxury retail, media technology, specialty finance, IT services and telecommunications equipment and industrial components sectors. A similar “adjusted target” situation occurred with Arlington Capital, which was expected to graduate from a $585 million fund to the $1 billion mark on its third vehicle. Instead, the fund has a $750 million target. The firm’s former placement agent, UBS, viewed even that increase as too steep, leading Arlington Capital to drop UBS for Credit Suisse.

Airborne Health caused its first private equity owners a bit of a headache, but that didn’t stop the nutritional supplement company from taking another dose of buyout money. The company today sold a controlling interest to GF Capital Management, a buyout firm based in New York. The deal included a co-investment from a new fundless […]

Goodbye Joe Consumer: "The concept of an 'average American' is gone, probably forever. " (Ad Age) Liquidity Events: Private Equity's Exit Strategies Are A-Changin' (Pitchbook) Help or Hurt? More than half of companies have banned Facebook and Twitter at work. (Wired) Pile On: Another busted LBO that earned its PE backers a profit. (Zero hedge) Oh Dear God: This could be so very ugly. The New York Post reported that Energy Future Holdings, aka TXU, is having problems with the restructuring plan for its debt. (Reuters)

BDCs (business development corporations) are now able to qualify for SBIC licenses, which are “back in vogue” with the benefits of access to low-cost capital, according to Mark Kromkowski, a private equity partner at law firm McGuireWoods LLP. SBICs (small business investment companies) receive up to $150 million in cheap leverage from Uncle Sam. How cheap? […]

Here's a look at the past week of scoops, opinions and analysis from the peHUB blogging team. Read ‘em before they go behind our subscriber paywall... Venture Capital MetRx Founder Is Back, And On Prowl for Venture Capital Venture Capital Is Not A Road To Riches Keeping Limited Partners Happy One Analyst's Take On Internet M&A In Memory Of Craig Johnson A Craig Johnson Memorial Bike Ride The VC Gender Gap: Are VCs Sexist? IPO Report Is Nostalgic for 1996 Twitter.org? Facebook.org? Laundry Room Chronicles: Talking VC-Backed Busts Ten Busiest VCs of 2009 Sources: Sequoia To Consolidate Fund Strategy National Medals Of Science And Technology Winners Defining The "Threat Level" Of A VC Fund How Big Could Pacific Biosciences Get? Q&A With Knowledge Networks CEO People Still Spend on Pets, Kids and Possibly Snot Private Equity CalPERS Disclosure Woefully Incomplete The Big Picture on Private Equity Compensation Next LBO Verse, Same As The First? Secondary Bids Rising: Did Secondary Players Miss Their Chance?

More Lending Thaw Predictions: This week the trigger is CD&R's stake purchase in Johnson Diversey. (AM Law) Steve Schwarzman owns Shamu: The Playgrounds of Private Equity, in which BX's new deal "could also prove to be a roller coaster in terms of value if Americans don't rediscover fun as part of the economic recovery." (Dealzone) At Least Someone is Excited about Private Equity: Guggenheim Investment Advisors LLC, which supervises $50 billion of assets, is renewing interest in private-equity funds after it halted such investments for two years because of concerns asset prices were too high. (Bloomberg) Fuzzy Channel: Citi, others give static to Clear Channel's PE firms. (New York Post) PEC VS NVCA: Have PE lobbyists thrown VCs under the bus? (Dealscape)

Atlas Holdings is in the market raising its first traditional buyout fund, two sources familiar with the situation said. The Greenwich, Conn.-based distressed investment firm had previously relied on investors to back deals on a one-by-one basis, typically investing large chunks of its own general partners’ capital. That structure is similar to that of its […]

Judging by anecdotal evidence and dismal Q3 numbers, not too many buyout firms are testing the fundraising market these days. But according to sources, there are a few brave souls out gathering investor commitments, and they have one thing in common. Firms that spent time pre-marketing their fund are finding the time right to officially […]