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NEWS

2:14pm 02.09.10

Invision Capital is raising up to $50 million for its debut fund, according to a regulatory filing. The Chicago-based firm plans to focus on buyout investments in the lower middle-markets.

Invision’s principals include: Robert Castillo, a founder partner of Valor Equity Partners; Thomas Harrison, a co-founder of Diamond Creek Capital; and John Devaney, also a co-founder of Diamond Creek Capital.

The firm already has secured more than $15 million in commitments. www.invisioncapitalgroup.com



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Dan Primack

New Fund Performance Data from UTIMCO

Posted on: February 9th, 2010

A large number of public pension funds now report fund-by-fund private equity performance (if you ask nicely), but they also report on a lag. The CalSTRS website, for example, only reports data through the end of March 2009. CalPERS does one quarter better, while Mass PRIM only releases 12/31 data – which means we won’t see those numbers until May or June. Oregon and Washington are among the best, with their websites currently showing data through the end of Q3 2009.

But Oregon and Washington are not the gold standard. That would be the University of Texas Investment Management Co. (UTIMCO), which seems to operate on one of those calendars that begins being sold around Halloween. You know, the ones with November, December and then all of next year…

Yesterday I asked UTIMCO for its most current PE performance data, and it sent a file that includes numbers through the end of November 2009. That makes it the most current sheet out there, and I’ve posted it after the jump. I’ve also posted UTIMCO’s performance data through November 2008, for the sake of comparison.

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NEWS

7:33am 02.09.10

LONDON (Reuters) - Pension fund ATP, which manages 609 billion Danish crowns ($112 billion), is set to invest 1 billion crowns a year in hedge funds as part of a plan to create an “all weather” portfolio, the fund’s chief executive said.

Lars Rohde told Reuters on Monday the Danish Labour market pension scheme also planned to double its exposure to private equity.

From 2012, the scheme, which returned 8.5 percent in 2009, will increase its hedge fund and private equity allocation as it implements a long-term strategy aimed at achieving returns independent of market conditions — what Rohde described as an “all weather portfolio.”

“We have a plan that going forward we should contribute approximately one billion a year,”

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Dan Primack

Illinois TRS Gets “Bold” About Bribery

Posted on: February 8th, 2010

Last month, the Teachers' Retirement System of Illinois issued an RFP to handle legal work related to the system's private market investments. Like other Illinois TRS requests for proposal, it included the following line:

Any attempt by a proposer to initiate contact with TRS staff or TRS Trustees, other than as specifically provided in this RFP, may disqualify the proposer from further consideration.


Unlike other system RFPs, however, this request put the warning in bold (see bottom of page 8). Seems to be something Illinois TRS believes the private markets need made particularly clear...



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Dan Primack

It’s Official: Markstone Settles with Cuomo

Posted on: February 8th, 2010

Last week, we noted an Israeli press report that Markstone Capital Partners was near a settlement with New York AG Andrew Cuomo, over its role in the state's pay-for-play scandal.

Cuomo's office declined to comment at the time, but today announced that the report was legit. Israel-focused Markstone will pay back $18 million in fees related to a $250 million investment from the New York State Common Retirement Fund into Markstone's debut fund. It also has signed Cuomo's "code of conduct," which basically promises not to use placement agents for future fundraising efforts in the U.S.

Not sure how much that last part matters, considering that: (A) I really can't imagine Markstone raising another fund, and (B) If Markstone does try to raise, it could focus on investors in Israel, where the code of conduct has no legal bearing.

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NEWS

11:00am 02.08.10

Clarity Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, is raising up to $650 million for its second China-focused fund, according to a regulatory filing. Clarity’s first China fund closed in 2007 with $220 million in capital commitments. www.claritypartners.net



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9:32am 02.08.10

HONG KONG (Reuters) - CITIC Capital, the flagship investment arm of CITIC Group, China’s No.1 financial conglomerate, said on Monday that it had completed raising $925 million for its second China buyout fund.

The closing size was bigger than the firm’s original target of $750 million and the fund, named CITIC Capital China Partners II, will target buyout and privatisation investments in Chinese companies driven by domestic economic growth, particularly in the consumer products and manufacturing sectors.

“We are delighted by the strong support we have received from both existing and new investors,” said Zhang Yicheng, chief executive of Hong Kong-headquartered CITIC Capital.

CITIC Capital is owned by China Investment Corp [CIC.UL], China̵

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8:06am 02.08.10

Triton Partners, a Germany-based buyout firm focused on the European middle markets, has closed its third fund with €2.25 billion in capital commitments, according to eFinancialNews. It had been targeting €2 billion.



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9:41am 02.04.10
CPP Investment Board (CPPIB) and Northleaf Capital Partners committed an additional $400 million to the Canadian private equity and venture capital market. The funds will be committed to a Canadian fund-of-funds program that will be managed by CPPIB's longstanding investment partner Northleaf Capital Partners.

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9:34am 02.04.10
MicroVest Capital Management, LLC closed MicroVest II, LP, a private equity fund targeting microfinance institutions worldwide. The fund, which closed with $60 million in commitments, will serve as a capital intermediary between investors and financial institutions that serve the working poor. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. acted as a placement agent, and one of its affiliates was a lead investor. In addition to J.P. Morgan, lead investors include the International Finance Corporation, CARE USA, Kinnevick New Ventures AB, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Christian Super Pyt, Ltd, and Mennonite Economic Development Associates.


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9:18am 02.04.10
Oaktree Capital Management is raising its third a new energy fund, according to a regulatory filing. The firm is targeting $800 million with a hard cap of $1 billion. It's the firm's first energy-focused effort without its former partner, GFI Energy Ventures, which sold its franchise to Oaktree, according to LBO Wire.



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8:29am 02.04.10
Taiwan's economic minister said the National Development Fund has decided not to inject funds into a newly established PC chip company, which will instead seek funding from the private sector.


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8:27am 02.04.10
Connecticut could raise $1.3 billion for its new budget by securitizing various assets, including state charges on utility bills and lottery revenues, the treasurer said in a report issued on Wednesday.

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7:43pm 02.02.10
Lovell Minnick Partners, a mid-market private equity firm focused on the financial services sector, has closed its third fund with $455 million in capital commitments. It had been targeting $350 million.

Limited partners include PPM America Capital Partners, HighVista Strategies, INVESCO Private Equity, WP Global Partners, Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group, Kemnay Private Equity, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Private Advisors, RCP Advisors, Twin Bridge Capital Partners and Washington University of St. Louis.

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Erin Griffith

The Tale of Two Funds

Posted on: February 2nd, 2010

peHUB has covered every nano-development in the fundraising processes of some firms,and Insight Equity and Prophet Equity are two such firms. That's because an interesting narrative emerged from the parallel fundraising efforts. For all the background, you can read here, and here, and here, and here, but the short story is this:

Ross Gatlin left Dallas-based turnaround shop Insight Equity as the firm prepared to raise its second fund. He left partly because the firm's terms and fund size were pretty ambitious. Insight had planned to increase its fund size from $300 million to $500 million, while introducing a graduated carry plan that reached 30% for anything above a 4x return, and included a new $250 million mezzanine sidecar fund. Meanwhile, Gatlin launched Prophet Equity and entered the market with a $250 million hard cap, standard carry and a higher than usual GP contribution.

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Erin Griffith

HIG Capital Raising Bio-Focused Venture Fund

Posted on: February 2nd, 2010

Florida-based H.I.G. Ventures is in the market with a new venture capital fund focused exclusively on life sciences companies. The firm had allocated around half of its $300 million second fund to life sciences investing, according to managing director Aaron Davidson, but now feels that the strategy deserves a dedicated vehicle.

The fund will focus primarily on companies developing therapeutic drugs or medical devices across sectors and stages, Davidson said. Specifically, “capital efficient businesses with large market opportunities in underserved geographies, and products with shorter development.”

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Dan Primack

Report: Markstone Reaches Settlement with Cuomo

Posted on: February 2nd, 2010

Tough day to be Markstone Capital Partners. First comes word of alleged fraud at Israeli investment house Psagot, of which Markstone holds a 24% stake (see below). Now, Israeli newspaper H'Aaretz reports that the private equity firm is near a settlement with New York AG Andrew Cuomo, over its role in the state's pay-for-play scandal.

I've put in a call to Cuomo's office for confirmation, but have not yet heard back.

The report says that Markstone has agreed to pay a fine, although no specific numbers are mentioned. Also not mentioned is anything about Markstone signing Cuomo's "code of conduct," but I'd be stunned if such a thing wasn't included.

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If you’re in the mood for a really enjoyable film, I recommend Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. In it he uses the latest movie-making technologies to animate 19th century London in all its dark immensity and brooding menace- from the elegant halls of parliament to the ornate rooms of masonic temples to the labyrinthine sewers beneath the city. The sets and staging in and of themselves are a masterpiece and are simply breathtaking. I think the production designer should be nominated for yet another Academy Award.

I also came to this film with a sensibility that I did not have when I first encountered Holmes as a young boy reading Conan Doyle. I was of course neither an entrepreneur nor an early-stage investor. Not surprisingly, this time, soon after leaving the theater something I had never considered before really hit me. I was struck by the realization that Sherlock would have made an amazing venture capitalist!

"What a perfectly silly notion my dear Watson!", he would no doubt have replied. But I would have to insist and say that VC's and Angel Investors young and old would do well to emulate some of Sherlock’s best qualities. Here they are as I see them:

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Venture Capitalist Accused of Blackmail Posted on: February 3rd, 2010
peHUB First Read Posted on: February 2nd, 2010
New York Shindig Photos Posted on: February 4th, 2010






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