Firms and Funds

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Merrill Lynch has raised US$2.65bn to invest in Asian real estate at a time when several funds are hoping to snap up bargain assets as the region’s property markets fall. The U.S. bank said in a statement its Asian Real Estate Opportunity Fund would mainly invest in Japan, China, South Korea […]

Only Fools Rush In? In today’s Wall Street Journal, Peter Lattman spelled out a fear I’ve been hearing on the tips of buyout pro tongues for a week or two now: All those leveraged loans gobbled up by buyout firms are looking pretty ugly. “Everyone who thought they were being very smart buying these loans […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is opposing its creditors’ request for documents related to the investment bank’s operations before its bankruptcy filing, saying that the demands are inappropriate and oppressive, according to court documents. Creditors, including Harbinger Capital Master Fund and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), had sought permission from the U.S. […]

Sciens Capital Management of New York has completed its acquisition of the institutional investment management business of London-based Atlas Capital Associates Ltd. No financial terms were disclosed.

DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain and London-listed Investcorp’s (INVBq.L) president and chief operating officer Gary Long said on Monday the investment firm’s portfolio companies were under stress, getting leverage for deals was difficult and investors were nervous. “Certainly alternative investment firms like Investcorp are being negatively impacted” by the financial turmoil, Long said, speaking at the […]

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s largest bank Santander is in talks to buy U.S. bank Sovereign Bancorp Inc, but that no deal has yet been reached, Santander said in a statement on Monday.   A source familiar with the matter said late on Sunday the Spanish bank was in advanced talks to acquire full control of […]

Key Capital Corp. has raised nearly $60 million for a secondary fund that will acquire direct interests in small private equity transactions, according to a regulatory filing.

The Blackstone Group has cut the target size of its new mega-buyout fund, and also has lowered its table minimum. I don’t yet have the revised target, except to say it’s higher than $10 billion and lower than Blackstone’s original $20 billion cover. The minimum commitment has dropped to $10 million. All of this, of […]

Elysian Capital, a UK mid-market private equity firm, has set a target of £200m (US$34m) for its debut fund, which is expected to reach a first close by Christmas. Elysian Capital I has reportedly already raised £55m through an unnamed anchor investor and a £25m allocation from the firm’s general partners, which includes Elysian founder […]