Firms and Funds

Wynnchurch Capital, a Chicago-based middle-market private equity firm, has opened an office in Toronto. It will be run by new managing director Morty White, who previously wan his own consulting practice and, before that, worked for GE Capital.

The Flemish government is injecting €2bn into KBC, Belgium’s second largest financial services firm. News of the lifeline, which will enable KBC to maintain its tier 1 capital at 8%, sent shares in KBC soaring by 47%. KBC’s share price had been on a six-day downward spiral after revealing a net loss for the fourth […]

MANILA (Reuters) – American International Group (AIG.N) will sell its consumer banking and car financing companies in the Philippines to a local bank for about 2 billion pesos ($42 million), sources said on Thursday. AIG is slated to sign an agreement on Friday with East West Bank, a mid-sized lender owned by businessman Andrew Gotianun, […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Merrill Lynch paid billions of dollars of bonuses to its employees, three days before completing its life-saving sale to Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), the Financial Times reported on its website on Wednesday. The money was paid as Merrill’s losses were mounting, forcing Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis last […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Luxembourg-based investment company Reinet Investments REIT.LU (REIJ.J) said on Thursday its Reinet Fund unit has agreed to buy part of Lehman Brothers Inc’s (LEHMQ.PK) merchant banking business. Reinet said it would commit up to $230 million over a three and a half year period to existing and new investments in the private […]

NEW YORK/MEXICO CITY  (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc (C.N) views its Mexican banking unit Banamex as a solid business and has no plans to sell it, sources familiar with the matter said. Analysts and business columnists have speculated in recent days that leading businessmen in Mexico could be planning to buy Banamex as Citigroup tries to […]

A team led by three former executives from Dallas-based advisory firm Aldus Equity plan to start a new advisory firm focused on investing alongside emerging managers, a source familiar with their plans told Reuters News. The team, led by former Aldus Equity partner Marcellus Taylor, is hoping to attract investors who may see such managers, […]

While I’m on the first-time fund beat, I may as well mention Yukon Partners, a new mezzanine fund that’s seeking $300 million for its debut fund, according to a source familiar with the situation. It's being raised by former Norwest Mezzanine partners Michael Hall and William Dietz. peHUB reported their departures were a surprise, but "orderly and amiable" last February. Out of any alternative asset in the market, mezzanine (alongside distressed and energy investors), is most likely to find investors with an appetite.

Updated after jump Weekend reports suggested that Cerberus Capital Management was prepping layoffs of up to 10% of its staff, and now there are indications that the axeman has cometh. Emails sent today to three members of Dymas Capital, a Cerberus lending affiliate, bounced back with the following message: You have reached a non-working email address at Dymas Capital Management Company, LLC. If you need additional assistance, please call our Main Number at 212-891-2100. Please be advised that this email has not been received by your intended recipient. Among the bouncebacks were senior director Daniel Lee, senior director Tim Davitt and director Douglas Goodwillie. I want to emphasize that these departures may be totally unrelated to the Cerberus layoff reports, but that would be one heck of a coincidence. Moreover, I've also

A number of buyout pros have shown concern about a draft issues paper the AICPA released this month. The paper provides guidance on how to estimate fair value, particularly in relation to NAV. I combed through it and have to agree with one LP’s assertion that, “The first page or so is all motherhood and apple pie, but by the time you get to the third or fourth page it hardly makes sense…” Of course, I’m not an accountant, but I think the takeaway is worth addressing. More than one PE pro has expressed frustrations to me over the NAV issue. It seems the paper indicates that PE firms should write down a fund if it is trading at a discount in the secondary market, since that is a tangible transaction to go off of. But that doesn’t seem to add up. A saturated, irrational secondary market that’s influenced by LP cash constraints doesn’t necessarily reflect the worth of the underlying assets in PE funds. Just because a desperate LP sells its interest in a fund for 60% of its value, doesn’t mean that fund won’t yield a return. Add that to the fact that not a lot of secondary trades actually come to fruition.