Erin Griffith

With its hiring of Debra Pederson, Carlyle Group is the latest in what's sure to be a trend of buyout houses bulking up their in-house fundraising teams. The move comes as the SEC has moved to ban venture and buyout funds from using placement agents to drum up commitments from public pension funds as a result of the recent "pay-to-play" scandal at the New York State Common Retirement. Carlyle Group became embroiled in the scandal through a fund it jointly operates with Riverstone LLC; as a result the firm announced it would cease to use placement agents as part of a code of conduct enforced by Andrew Cuomo. Even firms which are not fundraising may look to bulk up their investor relations team at a time when investors are cash-strapped and concerned about the performance of their investments in private

Is the Sears cupboard bare? Lampert's Strategy Is Hobbling Sears. (WSJ) Cerberus Walkaway: Clients of Cerberus Capital Management's core hedge funds have opted to withdraw the majority of money from the funds, marking a sharp rebuke to the weakened firm and its boss Stephen Feinberg. (WSJ) Simply Nursery? Some Twitterspam is too priceless not to share. It seems this adorable toddler is interested in mergers & acquisitions. (Twitter) KKR In Japan: Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Permira are vying to acquire Citigroup-owned BellSystem24, Japan's largest telemarketer, in a deal that would be one of the largest private equity investments in Japan this year. (FT) CLO Technique to Fund Private Equity Deals: Private equity firm Kidd & Co. has devised a novel securitization strategy that would finance investments in distressed-company debt. (Asset-Backed Alert)

As usual, we have a weeks worth of ratings actions on the debt of buyout-backed companies from ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Dollar General got upgraded, CD&R's new deal got downgraded, and things are still ugly at Hexion. Company: Dollar General Corp. Sponsor: KKR Action: S&P placed its ratings, including the 'B+' corporate credit rating, on the company on CreditWatch with positive implications. Highlights: “The CreditWatch placement follows Dollar General's S-1 filing, under which it plans to sell $750 million in common stock. Dollar General plans to use a portion of the proceeds to repurchase a mix of its existing subordinated and senior unsecured notes, subject to a 35% equity clawback provision under these indentures. In addition to the common stock offering, Dollar General plans to pay a $200 million dividend to its equity sponsors with cash from operations.“

The robust auction for Screenvison is heading into the final stages, according to a source close to the process. The cinema advertiser’s parent company, Thomson SA, announced in January that it would divest Screenvision, and also is selling Premier Retail Networks (PRN), which it purchased from Shamrock Capital Advisors in 2005 for $285 million (Shamrock did quite well on the deal, investing just $35 million from its first fund in 2001). UBS is running the auction process for Screenvision. The firm declined to comment. Based in New York, Screenvision runs an in-theater network of advertisers. In other words, they do those annoying ads you’re forced to endure before the movies. The company’s network focuses on independent theaters and has an Ebitda “in the ballpark” of $40 million.

Yesterday Forbes released its annual "Most Powerful Women" list, which is different from its lists of highest paid CEOs, richest billionaires, and highest-paid celebrities. Those are all about money. But since even women with great responsibilities and influence are still paid less than men, we get our own get a special "Power" list. And by special I mean consolation. The list is determined, according to Forbes, not by "celebrity or popularity," but by influence. It should be determined by money, just like the other lists, but it's not a perfect world. Sadly, the world of finance has lost some of its most "Most Powerful Women" over the past few years-aside from FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair and FDIC Chairman Mary Shapiro, the list is dominated by CEOs and political figures.

The Last Days of Lehman Brothers: The collapse of Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers is being dramatised by the BBC in a made-for-TV movie to be shown around October. (Reuters) Got the VC Model Backward? "While so many startups are groveling for funding, the founder and CEO of Paltalk, an online social video conferencing startup based in New York, decided to use its cash to buy back a major chunk of the company from a venture capital backer." (The Deal) South Park Meets Harvard Business School: Introducing California-based Singularity University, a new institution that aims to educate "a cadre of leaders" about the rapid pace of technology and to address humanity's grand challenges, such as climate and health. (FT) Matching Up Lenders With Borrowers: One solution to the credit crunch, which persists, particularly in the middle market, is the "minibond," Luke Johnson suggests. (FT) Silicon Valley Six: Want to know more about the most sought-after startups in Silicon Valley? Reuters has a breakdown of their backgrounds. (Reuters) What Does UBS Stand For: U Better Sing? Unreliable Bankers Swiss? A myriad of other examples from Barry Ritholtz. (The Big Picture)

Earlier this week trade publication Supermarket News reported that the auction for Virginia-based supermarket Ukrop’s Super Markets may go to a private equity bidder. Strategic bidders Harris Teeter, Delhaize Group, and Ahold had been outbid by a buyout firm, the publication reported. The company was first reported to be on the block in July. Goldman […]

PBM Products, a maker of private-label baby foods, is seeking to arrange for a buyout or partial sale of the company. The company, based in Gordonsville, Va., could garner as much as $1 billion. Jefferies & Co. is advising the company. (Read more) Good Times Restaurants Inc. (Nasdaq SmallCap: GTIM), a quick service restaurant chain based in Colorado, hired Mastodon Ventures, Inc. to provide strategic advisory services as it explores strategic alternatives. Bankrupt Metaldyne, based in Plymouth, Mich., is seeking a buyer for its Tubular Products Business, its Balance Shaft Module Business, and its Chassis operations. Revstone Industries LLC has been named the stalking horse bidder for the latter; Hephaestus Holdings has been named the stalking horse bidder for the Tubular Products and Balance Shaft Module businesses. The auction for the Travel Channel, run by Goldman Sachs, has received bids from Scripps Networks Interactive and General Electric Co's NBC Universal. (Read more) Tremont Group Holdings, a firm which operated Madoff feeder funds, has retained bank Duff & Phelps to run an auction for remaining hedge fund assets in the coming weeks. (Read more)

This Is Bad: The New York Times published a pretty unfavorable article about New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. The system has lagged in performance behind its peers even as the city tripled its money managers and fees paid. Meanwhile Thompson's campaign contributions have grown. "In some cases, the executives gave to Mr. Thompson just months before the pension funds hired them to manage tens of millions of dollars, according to interviews and public records," the article states. (NY Times) Putting an End to the Speculation: Mark your calendars for August 26 to finally find out what's up with the FDIC's rules on PE investing in banks. That's when they're voting. (Reuters) Debate Club: Private Equity versus Venture Capital. BusinessWeek thinks private equity wins in times of economic trouble. (Bigger is better? Believing the "operational expertise" lie?) (BW) And On The Other Side Of The Pond: Private equity firms are going back to investors for more money to fix ailing companies or to make acquisitions, opening a new round of tough talks as they struggle to recover from the credit crunch. (Reuters) The Travails of Journalists Turned Financiers: The crossover hasn't been pleasant for all. (DJ)

At the beginning of this year, bankruptcy pros looked at the massive hangover of LBO debt, coupled with the deteriorating economy, and predicted a giant wave of bankruptcies would wash over the private equity world in 2009. While bankruptcies are up over last year (on pace to double, in fact), the figure is still not […]