Erin Griffith

Private equity firms face a fund-raising overhang of $400 billion, which is an all-time high, according to Alliance of M&A Advisors and PitchBook Data. The $400 billion signifies the difference between funds raised and funds invested through April 2009, since 1998. The current total is a jump from $377 million at the end of last year and $236 million in 2007. According to the report: "There is currently enough dry powder to more than support the deal activity of 2004, 2005 and 2006 combined with the use of moderate leverage,” wrote PitchBook founder John Gabbert. The funny thing is, despite griping to the contrary, buyout firms continue to raise money. Pitchbook notes that 18 funds have closed on $25 billion in the last 60 days.

HIPOs: As a follow-up to Tim Draper's "prublic" idea, here's another IPO-alternative, the Hybrid IPO. (Bloomberg) Really, It's Bad Over There: The finger pointing over NY's pension fund's performance is flaring. (Dealbook) "You're a Disgrace:" That's what Mike Bloomberg told a reporter who dare question his run for a third term, now that the economy is showing signs of recovery. (Clusterstock) Michael Moore: He's got some ideas for the future of General Motors. (Michael Moore)

It’s been about a year since we’ve heard from Tagg Romney and his team at private equity firm Solamere Capital, but we should expect a fund closing announcement any day. In June 2008, Solamere Capital went to market with a $200 million target on its first fund, called Solamere Founders Fund I LP. A year later, the firm is closing in on that target, with $186 million in commitments from 39 investors, according to an SEC filing. Tagg Romney, the son of Bain Capital founder and one-time 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.

Yesterday FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair provided a relatively fruitless update on the FDIC’s plans for future private equity investments banks. It’s been a week since four buyout firms took control of BankUnited, the second-costliest bank to fail in the financial crisis, and almost a year since J.C. Flowers and crew took over IndyMac, the most […]

As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings agency actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies from Moody’s Investors Services and Standard & Poor’s. This week, we've got a rating on the new Harrah's debt (higher than expected), and downgrades on companies owned by Apollo, Apax, Canaan Partners, Centerbridge Capital Partners, Silver Hawk, Silver Lake, Kohlberg & Co., Madison Dearborn Partners LLC and Providence Equity Partners. Company: Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Sponsor: TPG and Apollo Management Downgrade: S&P placed the company’s 'CCC' corporate credit rating on CreditWatch with positive implications. S&P also assigned the proposed $1.0 billion senior secured notes offering an issue-level rating of 'B' (two notches higher than the expected 'CCC+' post-transaction corporate credit rating on Harrah's).” Highlights: "We view the bank amendment as being a positive step since we were previously concerned that, given our expectation for operating performance, HOC may not have been able to remain in compliance with its senior secured leverage ratio covenant in the coming quarters.”

Two weeks ago we ran a blind item asking which PE-owned retail business was about to file for Chapter 11. Certainly the answer could have been “half of them,” but we gave the hint that this company’s sponsor is getting used to this sort of thing. That company finally filed yesterday: It was Anchor Blue Retail Group, backed by Sun Capital Partners. For those of you counting, that’s Sun Capital’s seventh company to go under this year. It had six bankruptcies last year. Of course, the firm’s response to this number is that Sun Capital pays so little for its acquisitions of struggling companies that the performance of its funds is not adversely affected by the bankruptcies. Well, this situation is no exception. Sun Capital actually made money on its investment in the now-bankrupt Anchor Blue Retail Group.

For the second time, Carlyle Group has made its annual report available to the public. I haven't had time to fully examine the entire 64 pages of it, but I did notice the obvious--it doesn't give us specific write-up and write-down numbers (maybe I overlooked them?). The report does not make mention of the firm's newly adopted Cuomo code of conduct or conspicuously avoid mention of the $20 million settlement it paid to the state of New York, as I had mistakenly written here earlier (rather, it lists the Private Equity Council Code). The reason it doesn't make mention of these things because the report was at the printer when they happened, I'm told. Also, I previously wrote, I was curious as to which pocket of capital that $20 million fee came from. Carlyle's spokesperson said the money was paid from the firm's balance sheet. Anyways, below are a few other highlights from my initial skim, as well as the entire document. We've posted a more in-depth take on the "humbling" report here.

Things Are Getting Desperate: The world of job hunting in finance just got even more degrading, according to a story called "Scenes from The Hiring Front (I'll Work For Free)." (Deal Journal) Clearly: We're expecting some changes on the PE-Bank investment front, but in the meantime, Dow Jones has obtained a 289-page report that argues we should eliminate restrictions altogether. Easier said than done. (WSJ) Meanwhile: Jack Reed has some thoughts of his on own the PE + Bank combo topic. (Daily Finance) Workarounds: Some banks are still hoping that they'll be allowed to game the Tim Geithner's Public-Private Investment Partnership. (Clusterstock) What Work/Life Balance? Here's some depressing news coming off of a holiday weekend-people in finance suffer the most when they take time off work. (Atlantic)

As the weather (slowly) warms up, plenty of M&A bankers are hoping the market for deals will as well. We've noticed a few more targets coming to market in recent weeks and have compiled a list of some of those we've come across. Our sources are various news reports and the Buyouts "Seeking Buyers" list. The following companies (among many, many others) are either formally considering "strategic alternatives," reported to be on the block, or rumored to be in sale talks in the past week. I can't be comprehensive, but I can try. For prior lists, go here, or here, and send any additions my way.

Lindsay Goldberg, a buyout fund based in New York, has closed its third fund with $4.7 billion in commitments, according to a source. Congratulations, I say, since a closed fund now is about as rare as an all-equity deal three years ago. The fund entered the market last year with a goal of between $4 […]