Firms and Funds

Dealbreaker this morning reported that Berkshire Hathaway/Warren Buffet could be interested in backstopping AIG. Then I got an unfounded tip suggesting that AIG had hired a law firm to advise it on filing for Chapter 11. (Just in case of a freak accident, Equity Private has laid out a discussion of the possibilities) But at last, the truth. At around 1pm, Governor Patterson agreed to let

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch creates the No. 1 underwriter of global debt and equity securities, bumping off JPMorgan from the top spot, according to Thomson Reuters data. Banc of America Securities and Merrill Lynch underwrote $45.6 billion in equity worldwide year to date, compared to $39.7 billion for […]

The big question for me right now is what will become of Lehman Brothers’ private equity unit, which has around $35 billion in assets under management. This includes buyout funds, venture capital funds, funds-of-funds and fund placement activities.  Lehman said in a press release last night that has resumed plans to sell off its investment […]

BANGALORE (Reuters) – Analysts on Monday said the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH.N) will cause a major reduction in credit market liquidity and raise concerns over substantial counterparty risk exposure that Lehman had, while forcing other brokers to mark down the value of their assets. “We expect the financial markets to be under […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – As Lehman Brothers Holdings stared failure in the face on Sunday, anxiety intensified about the health of several other big U.S. financial institutions. “We will see other major financial firms fail,” former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said. “Indeed, we shouldn’t try to protect every single institution. The ordinary course of […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Insurer American International Group Inc, working to stave off rating downgrades and shore up the capital of its holding company, has made an unprecedented approach to the Federal Reserve seeking $40 billion in short-term financing, the New York Times said. Chief Executive Robert Willumstad reached out to the Fed late on […]

(Reuters) – Wilbur Ross, founder of private equity firm WL Ross & Co LLC, expects as many as a thousand U.S. bank closures in the coming months, CNBC said on its website on Monday. The billionaire investor, who made his fortune making investments on distressed industries, said the closures will create opportunities for investors, CNBC […]

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp said it agreed to buy Merrill Lynch & Co Inc in an all-stock deal worth $50 billion, snagging the world’s largest retail brokerage after one of the worst-ever weekends on Wall Street. The deal came after tense negotiations over the fate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which […]

You had to know this was coming. Steven Lerner, who runs the private equity watchdog part of labor union SEIU, has just issued a statement related to the possibility that KKR or another PE firm (J.C. Flowers, Bain, Hellman & Friedman...) may buy a piece of Lehman Brothers. Here it is: The Lehman Brothers scramble is not the time to allow KKR or other buyout firms to break into banks. And under no circumstances should taxpayers underwrite a marriage between banks and buyout firms. KKR and other buyout firms have made clear their intention to move into banks – and are lobbying hard to tear down important regulatory safeguards. But with their risky debt strategies, exorbitant fees, and poor track record outside their core

Yeah, that headline kind of wrote itself. The Deal is reporting that Change Capital Partners, a UK-based private equity firm focused on the retail sector, has changed ownership. This is a secondary sale of limited partner interests, but is particularly noteworthy because Change only has one outside limited partner on its €300 million debut fund. That would be the Halley family, which was once bosom buddies with Change Capital founder Luc Vandevelde. The Halleys in 2004 asked Vandevelde -- former chairman of UK retailer Marks & Spencer -- to serve as their representative on the board of French retailer Carrefour SA, of which the Halleys were the single largest shareholder. He soon became company chairman, but last year was ousted following a power struggle with the Halleys (reports were that he was seeking PE backers to take Carrefour private). So it's not terribly surprising that the Halleys