Erin Griffith lists 49 PE deals that went Chapter 11 in 2008, up from just two in 2007. Wow! But, not one technology deal made the list. (Wow again?)

Leveraged buyouts in the technology sector are not new, as firms like Welsh Carson, TA Associates, GA and Warburg Pincus have been at it for over 25 years. But when the tech bubble burst and the IPO market became terminally ill back in 2000, these old-line firms were joined by a rush of overfed VCs (Battery, NorthBridge, Insight), generalist buyout shops and several new tech-focused PE firms – all of whom went on a remarkable fund-raising and shopping spree. 

The new breed of tech-focused PE firms were lead by names like Silver Lake, Francisco, Golden Gate, Vista and Vector.  Many of these firms were built on tech banki...

For a group priding itself on identifying, nurturing and commercializing innovation, it’s ironic that the venture capital industry resides in the relative backcountry of financial innovation.

Considering all of modern finance’s experimentation and ingenuity (for better and worse), today’s basic VC model has remained untouched for over a quarter century. It’s as if 18th century traders swapping shares under a New York buttonwood tree agreed, “This is the future of finance.”

Why is it that the same investors obsessed with change and the next best thing haven’t applied their considerable talents to their own craft? For decades, this inefficiency was prized by a clubby VC industry as a competitive moat, keeping newcomers out and quietly maintaining a ...

Among my holiday readings this year was Alan Greenspan’s biography cum economic analysis, “The Age of Turbulence.” In retrospect, the book’s publishing date of mid-2007 preceded almost precisely the unraveling of the housing market in mid-2007 that eventually led to 2008 becoming the year of the largest market crash since the Great Depression. The book is thus a fascinating glimpse into Greenspan’s brain on the eve of the crash.

In short, the erstwhile “Maestro” (as Bob Woodward tagged him in his 2000 book) clearly “missed it.” One quote that really jumped out at me:

“I was aware that the loosening of mortgage credit terms for sub-prime borrowers increased financial risk, and that subsidized home ownership initiatives dis...

Last week I wrote about capital market participants being overwhelmed by technology innovation and winding up totally stupid about valuation. Understanding the fundamentals of valuation theory helps us see how we got off the rails on value again - houses, stocks, etc - and how to think about value in the environment we are likely to see in 2009.

I was fortunate to do my vocational training in New Haven with some great luminaries in the field of valuation – Steve Ross, Roger Ibbotson, Bob Shiller among the more famous. I came away with a wonderful set of sophisticated tools and two fairly simple rules. Rule #1 – the best measure of “today’s” value is the price that a “willing buyer” pays to a “willing seller” (please note that “willing” is not synonymous sma...

Most days my colleagues and I start and end our days talking with candidates about their careers and, indirectly, their lives. Of late, our days have been filled with a mix of conversations with candidates who have either been hit with layoffs, are worried about it or are otherwise looking to make a career move. Inevitably, the economy is part of our daily dialogue but so are holiday plans and lately the anxiety and uncertainty seems to have hit hard for many of our candidates.

A good recruiter is part career coach, part cheerleader, part parent and often just a good listener. Our role is to help bring candidates to their next opportunity and to build businesses by bringing the best candidates to our clients. But, our role is at its heart, about relationships. Sometimes that mean...

The business world is full of silly sounding or near-meaningless corporatespeak clichés. Even worse, everyone repeats ‘em until they become official. Like most industries, private equity has its own ridiculous language.

In the spirit of holiday light-heartedness, my Buyouts colleagues and I compiled some layman’s explanations of our favorite PE clichés, with everything from “Proprietary deal flow” to “Value add.”

So remember, this is what journalists really think when we hear boiler plate clichés. Feel free to add your own. Feel very f...

In the last month or so, coverage of private equity has gone from cautious to murky to bearish to downright apocalyptic.

The descent has been so rapid, in fact, that it’s almost rendered Michael Wolff’s recent Vanity Fair article on private equity MOA (moot on arrival).

His piece, titled “The Ultimate Bubble,” asks the question on everyone’s mind: Is private equity doomed, to what extent and which specific people or firms? Wolfe nails it when he says: “Chances are that what you’re doing ...

The final list of 2008 LBO-backed bankruptcies has 49 Chapter 11s. Repeat offenders include our turnaround investing friends at Sun Capital and Cerberus and our non-turnaround investing friends at Catterton Partners, Carlyle Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and Madison Dearborn Partners.

The auto industry tops the list as worst-hit, claiming 11 of the Ch. 11’s. Tied with automotive is retail, with 11 more of the 11’s. Three of those are furniture retailers. Beyond that it’s a toss-up with transportation + airlines claiming six, three m...

Well, it’s over. The year two thousand eight was wrought with bummers, busts, breakdowns and bad news for private equity, yet (most of) you managed to survive. For our part, peHUB emerged relatively unscathed, thanks to our loyal readers. (really, thanks!)

To close out the year with a self-indulgent bang, we’ve unlocked our top ten most popular stories from the archives. Enjoy reminiscing, and have a Happy New Year!