Fundraising

Bain Capital limits side letters for Asia fund Side letters have gotten “out of control” Some GPs attempt to standardize the process Bain Capital did something that caught the attention of limited partners this year. With its third Asia fund, which closed in December on $3 billion, the firm limited side letters. This was something […]

Jeff Horing, co-founder and managing director at Insight Venture Partners, thinks the IPO environment may improve toward the end of 2016 if the markets can recover. “I suspect there are a lot of substantial private companies that could be candidates. I think our world of tech/software PE will remain aggressive and competitive,” he said. *** […]

Each year I like to think back on all the work done over the past 12 months. This has been a year of strength in the industry — strong fundraising, active M&A, and GPs continuing to give back money to LPs through exits and liquidity events — as you can read in our year-end cover […]

Year founded: 1990 Investment focus: Oil and gas Key executives: Albert Huddleston, Gordon Huddleston, Matthew Marziani, Paul Sander Headquarters: Dallas, Texas AUM: $1.2 bln Fundraising status: Closed Fund II on $240 mln in November Website: aethonenergy.com Oil prices are approaching 11-year lows and the price for natural gas has fallen by more than 30 percent since […]

The Small Business Investor Alliance, which lobbies for mid-market buyout and mezzanine shops, including many SBIC funds and BDCs, helped to secure member-friendly legislation as part of two appropriations bills this fall, including a provision that makes it easier for firms to raise additional SBIC funds. SBIA wants the momentum to continue. Among its 2016 objectives, the organization may push […]

Firm: Blackstone Group Fund: Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund II Target: $7 billion to $8 billion Amount raised: At least $3.69 bln Placement agents: UBS, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Bank Julius Baer & Co Ltd, Park Hill Group Blackstone Group said it raised $3.7 billion for Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund II, a pool that’s been investing […]

The majority of general partners that promise priority returns to investors set the threshold at 8 percent, according to Buyouts Insider’s “PE/VC Partnership Agreements Study” for 2016-17. The 8 percent hurdle is particularly common among both North American and international buyout funds. Action Item: Purchase the “PE/VC Partnership Agreements Study” for 2016-17 in The PE Hub Network Marketplace […]

General partners often agree to provide some annual rate of return to investors before taking their share of profit, giving limited partners additional security that they won’t end up in a clawback situation. (Hellman & Friedman and Warburg Pincus famously don’t offer priority returns.) This has become especially true for North American buyout firms, where over […]

Is the much-discussed private equity portfolio of California Public Employees’ Retirement System performing even better than widely thought? An examination of the performance and cost figures that CalPERS released late last month on its private equity program suggests that it is. Revelations include: Realized deals are outperforming the rest of the portfolio, suggesting untapped value in the unrealized portfolio. […]

Side letters have become widespread in PE Bain allows only necessary legal, regulatory terms Third Asia fund closed this month on $3 bln Bain Capital took advantage of the popularity of its third Asia fund, recently closed at its $3 billion hard cap, to limit what investors could put into side letters. The firm has done this before with its Asia funds. […]