Firms and Funds

NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) – The woes of the American auto industry have put secretive private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and co-founder Stephen Feinberg in the one place they don’t want to be — the spotlight. The $27 billion private equity company, named after the multiheaded dog that guards the gates of the underworld, abhors […]

Nordic Capital has closed its seventh fund with €4.3 billion in capital commitments. It will focus on mid-cap and large-cap buyouts in the Nordic market and other parts of Europe.

Perhaps the NYSE should consider closing its trading floor at 3pm, since that seems to be the witching hour for massive selloffs. I’d bet Steve Schwarzman and Tony James might endorse that proposal, given that Blackstone Group stock closed the day at a piddling $5.10 per share. That’s the lowest-ever closing price for Blackstone shares, […]

Private equity pros are busy fretting over disappearing returns, but there may soon be something far more frightful for them to consider: Disappearing jobs. I’ve begun asking senior industry sources about the prospect of private equity firm layoffs, and most of the replies have been in the range of probably to definitely. I’ve even heard that a […]

NEWTON, Mass., (Reuters) – General Electric Co (GE.N) said on Thursday it has no intention of raising additional capital from sovereign-wealth funds. The company is in talks with Asian investors about joint ventures similar to one formed earlier this year with Abu Dhabi investment agency Mubadala Development Co, said GE spokesman Russell Wilkerson. “With the […]

Nova Capital Management Ltd., a UK-based buyer of direct secondaries, is raising €300 million for its first official fund, according to LBO Wire. It had previously raised capital on an individual deal basis, since its 2002 formation. www.nova-cap.com

The CapStreet Group, a Houston-based private equity firm focused on the lower middle-markets, has secured more than $80 million for a first close on its third fund. It is targeting a total of $200 million.

HONG KONG (Reuters) – It’s been a tough stretch for the Asian portfolio of CVC Capital Partners, a large private equity firm that is taking hits from all parts of the region. The firm recently failed to dispose of Amtek Engineering, the Singapore metal stamping company it bought last year, and is trying to sell […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s second-largest pension scheme is mulling a sharp boost in alternative assets such as private equity and commodities and plans to more than double the size of its investment team covering the sector. The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) Chief Investment Officer Peter Moon said the scheme already has 8 percent of its […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners said on Wednesday it hopes its fundraising efforts will raise more than 600 million euros ($757 million) by the end of the first quarter of 2009. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a presentation, managing partner Mark Crosbie said the European fund had made contact with […]