A decision last August by the National Labor Relations Board continues to throw into question the tidy arm’s length relationship that private equity shops have maintained with their portfolio companies. Under a worst case scenario, sponsors may find themselves involved in collective bargaining with unions at portfolio companies, liable for any unfair labor practices, and on the hook for pension contributions. […]
The shadow of the SEC is looming over the private equity secondary market. SEC officials have been vocal about their scrutiny of zombie funds and the restructuring process. Agency officials have said at past conferences they plan to watch this area closely to make sure limited partners are being treated fairly. In restructurings, new investors buy assets […]
Torys LLP's Michael Akkawi, Sophia Tolias and Guy Berman believe key dynamics of Canada's private equity market in 2015 tell us a lot about emerging trends in 2016. In a PE Hub Canada exclusive, they argue how a more competitive market environment, new PE strategies and other factors are shaping deal activity. Neville Jugnauth and Derek Flaman also share their insights on the new deal opportunities in Canada’s energy sector.
Does the stock market know something the rest of us don’t? The S&P 500’s more than 9 percent drop from New Year’s through February 10 suggests that the United States’s seven-year trot of economic growth, however plodding, may be heading for a concrete wall. And fears of an imminent recession have real consequences. Financial buyers, for one, won’t […]
Torys LLP has released its much-anticipated Private Equity in Focus 2016 report. It considers how private equity deal-making in 2015 has set the stage for this year's transactions. Torys' report helps investment pros peer into what lies ahead in 2016 through three levels of focus: in the markets, in the deals, and in the terms.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System board has been in discussions about the best way to benchmark performance of its private equity portfolio. One of the benchmarking options being considered, according to a public agenda of the board meeting in January, is a list of the most desired terms and conditions in private equity funds. […]
Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic alternatives in addition to the continued pursuit of the reverse spin-off of its Internet business.
About a year ago I wrote in this column that cracks were starting to appear in the credit markets used to finance leveraged buyouts. Those early cracks, after a reasonably steady start to 2015, have since widened into fractures. Behind those fractures lies a growing wedge of fears. Among the biggest is that a slowing world economy will leave many […]
As we take this issue to press, the financial world is spiraling into a vortex of pessimism. The markets have been battered on various concerns, primarily a downturn in China. Oil and gas, which has been such a big driver of economic growth in the United States, is a shambles as overproduction and falling demand, especially […]
Private equity is its own universe in many ways. But don’t expect that universe to be shielded from the same forces rumbling through the public equity markets in the first few weeks of January. A survey of some 60 deal professionals and investors conducted by Buyouts Insider in December and early January found 30 percent of respondents predicting that prices would […]