Firms and Funds

Last November, we reported that former Citizens Financial chief Steve Steinour was in talks with The Blackstone Group to partner on a "multi-billion dollar" fund that would buy distressed banks and other financial services companies. What we didn't know was that, just weeks later, Steinour was approached by Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq: HBAN) to become its new president and CEO. He accepted, and a formal announcement was made earlier today. "Blackstone was a terrific organization, and I got to work with a number of the team members there," Steinour tells peHUB. "It quite possibly could have ended up different [had the fundraising environment been better]. When we came together late in the summer, it was with the expectation of reaching into their global network. But once October came, it became obvious that it was going to be much more difficult."

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Mount Kellett Capital Management, a private equity firm run by former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) partner Mark McGoldrick, has raised at least $1.5 billion and is on the hunt for investments, several market sources said. The global fund which McGoldrick – known as ‘Goldfinger’ – launched last year had originally sought to […]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Parliament’s top socialists have given the European Union’s executive arm until mid-March to draft regulation for the private equity sector. The assembly’s socialist bloc has already extracted a commitment from the European Commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, to come forward with draft regulations on hedge funds. “But what is proposed […]

Calera Capital (f.k.a. Fremont Partners) has closed its fourth fund with $700 million in capital commitments, according to LBO Wire. The San Francisco-based buyout firm had been targeting $1.25 billion. www.caleracapital.com

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Merrill Lynch’s former Asia investment banking head is starting his own private equity fund, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, but will continue to serve as an adviser to the bank’s new owner, Bank of America (BAC.N). The move by Sheldon Trainor to launch an Asia-focused investment fund […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc (C.N) agreed to merge its Smith Barney brokerage with Morgan Stanley’s (MS.N) wealth management unit, a big step in the possible dismantling of what was once the world’s largest bank. The joint venture will create the largest U.S. brokerage, known as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, with more than 20,000 […]

This is what happens when LPs are cash-strapped: PE interests are piling up on the secondary market, there’s no debt to do deals and no companies want to sell. PE is out of vogue. Not unlike conspicuous-consumption-in-a-recession out of vogue. The fate of the fundraising processes that have sputtered to a standstill hangs in limbo--a little place LPs have been calling “fundraising purgatory.” This is especially true for many first-time funds, with no existing LPs to rely on to at least participate pro rata. Of course, the first-time funds are also the slowest to admit trouble, claiming they’re still working away, despite prolonged periods with no sign of a close. Others have come clean. In recent weeks, the following firms have put their fundraising on hiatus until the storm passes, according to reports at peHUB or elsewhere:

Tailwind Capital has closed its inaugural fund with $775 million in capital commitments, according to LBO Wire. The New York-based buyout firm spun off from Thomas Weisel Partners in 2006, and held a $320 million first close in early 2007. It had been targeting $750 million. Atlantic-Pacific Capital served as placement agent. www.tailwindcapital.com

  HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) is selling about $2.4 billion worth of shares in Beijing-controlled Bank of China (3988.HK) on Tuesday, according to market sources and a term sheet for the deal seen by Reuters. The move represents a partial retreat to its home market by RBS, which had been […]

HONG KONG (Reuters) – GSO Capital Partners LP, Blackstone Group’s (BX.N) $25 billion credit hedge fund, is closing its Asia investment desk after failing to find attractive investments in the region, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The four-member team, led by Asia-Pacific head Timothy Donahue, will be relocated to either London or […]