2007 may be the year of mid-market buyouts, and firms are stocking up on capital. The latest is Crestview Partners, which has secured $1.7 billion in commitments for a second fund that should eventually close north of $2 billion. Not too shabby for a firm that only began marketing back in October. New York-based Crestview […]
I just finished putting together the annual “Where Are They Now?” chart for Venture Capital Journal, which tracks all of the comings and going of VCs over the past year. Two things jumped out at me: 1. There were very few general partners who switched firms in 2007. Sure there were some — like Rich Levandov […]
Who says the quick flip is dead? Not The Blackstone Group, which reportedly has filed to take Travelport public, just 15 months after buying the company from Cendant for $4.3 billion (along with One Equity Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures). Now I know this isn’t exactly a textbook quick flip, as Blackstone & Co. will still […]
There’s some new research out contradicting PE industry claims that buyout firms create more jobs than they eliminate. And it comes from some of the most respected academics who study such things, including Steve Davis of the University of Chicago and Josh Lerner of Harvard Biz School. Preliminary info was presented yesterday at the American […]
Who’s to blame for Affiliated Computer Services failing to be acquired for $6.2 billion by Cerberus Capital Management and company chairman Darwin Deason? The answer depends on who you ask, and neither side is holding back its true feelings. Deason today asked five ACS independent directors to resign immediately, saying that the board’s failure to […]
I was in Chicago Friday to moderate a discussion on private equity investment in the travel and tourism sector. Lots of talk about corporate governance, with a particular focus on corporate social responsibility. The event was unfortunately off-the-record, so I can’t share the particulars. But I can at least provide some data from Daddy Thomson, […]
The Carlyle Group today responded to criticism of its proposed buyout of nursing home operator Manor Care, by sending a “Patient’s First” pledge to state regulators. Just hours later, however, Carlyle’s main antagonist — the Service Employees International Union — dismissed the pledge as nothing more than a “PR tactic.” We might be nearing the point […]
I’m expecting that there will be some sort of compromise on the Sallie Mae deal, since all of this huffing and puffing seems to be more about leverage than indignation. But, for the sake of column, let’s assume that the Flowers consortium walks away and is required to pay the $900 million breakup fee. The […]
The following is an email from a limited partner with J.C. Flowers, the buyout firm that is in a litigious battle to buy (or perhaps not to buy) student lender Sallie Mae. I’ve been talking to a lot of these LPs, and this basically sums up what I’ve heard. It’s being kept anonymous, per the […]
Sallie Mae has received expressions of interest from buyers other than J.C. Flowers, company chairman Albert Lord said today during a Q3 earnings call. Lord did not provide any specifics — including if those buyers would be willing to meet the $60 per share price that Flowers has since walked back from. The Flowers consortium […]