Firms and Funds

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG), Japan’s largest bank, said on Monday it planned to acquire as much as 20 percent of U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley as part of a broader strategic alliance. The investment comes a day after both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc were granted approval […]

Paladin Capital Group has raised $340 million for Paladin III, which is a successor to the $235 million Paladin Homeland Security Fund raised in 2004. An official announcement is expected to come later today. The Washington, D.C.-based firm plans to continue a multi-stage strategy focused on homeland security, which includes everything from critical infrastructure IT […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley sought shelter with the Federal Reserve to survive a financial storm that destroyed their rivals, effectively killing Wall Street’s investment banking model of the past two decades. The move is Washington’s latest effort to restore calm to chaotic markets and follows frantic talks between the Bush administration […]

(Reuters) – Asset manager Legg Mason Inc (LM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is looking to go private, The New York Post reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Legg Mason had been weighing a move that could see one or more private-equity investors, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., buy it and spin off […]

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Japan’s Nomura Holdings has reached a deal to buy the Asian operations of Lehman Brothers, a source said on Monday, outbidding other banks seeking to scoop up Lehman’s Asia group on the cheap. The source, who had direct knowledge of the deal, did not say how much it was worth, nor […]

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley’s (MS.N) board was scheduled to meet on Saturday to weigh strategic options for the investment bank, including a possible takeover by Wachovia Corp or selling a bigger stake to China Investment Corp, sources familiar with the situation said on Saturday. No deal was seen as imminent and no formal offers were […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a revised version of British bank Barclays Plc’s deal to purchase the core U.S. business of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. In a Manhattan court hearing that started on Friday and lasted past midnight, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck approved the sale, saying he had found no […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley’s talks with Wachovia Corp, China Investment Corp and other institutions continue, though the rebound in its securities gives the investment bank more time to consider its options, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. While the priority remains staying an independent Wall Street broker-dealer, Morgan Stanley continues multiple […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Major shareholders of American International Group Inc are trying to help pay off a hefty federal loan before the government can take a 79.9 percent stake in the insurer, which would heavily dilute their shares, the Wall Street Journal reported. AIG, which was on the verge of collapse as it struggled […]

No, I am not referring to the storied Insight Ventures Partners. (We’ve beaten up on them plenty lately.)Insight Equity is a turnaround private equity firm based in Southlake, Texas. The firm is almost doubling its fund size in its sophomore effort. Insight is seeking to raise $500 million, up from its first fund, a $280 million 2005 vintage. The firm is on the road now, marketing Insight Equity II LP with UBS as its placement agent, a source familiar with the situation said. In an interesting development that's been springing up more and more lately,