TPG soared on IPO; Corsair hopes to repeat Repay success; more LPs are over-allocated

Happy Friday, Hubsters.

MK Flynn on the Wire here, as we wind down the week. (Note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, PE Hub Wire will not publish on Monday. We’ll be back on Tuesday, January 18.)

Auspicious sign. The public markets delivered a vote of confidence to the private equity model yesterday when shares of TPG jumped 15 percent on its first day of trading, giving the company founded by David Bonderman and Jim Coulter a market cap above $10 billion. The performance is especially significant when you consider that TPG is more of a pure-play PE business than its publicly traded peers Apollo, Blackstone and Carlyle, which have a lot of exposure to other alternative asset classes, such as credit and real estate, points out the Wall Street Journal.

Repay repeat. The payments processing sector continues to consolidate, providing plenty of opportunity for private equity. The Hub’s Aaron Weitzman spoke with Corsair Capital partner Jeremy Schein about the firm’s recent investment in Aurora Payments. Corsair hopes to do with Aurora what it did with previous portfolio company Repay, which was bought by Thunder Bridge Acquisition and currently trades on the Nasdaq. “We believe payments continues to be an incredibly exciting space and within that space there is technology and distribution and having the right platform to go out and buy and build internally,” Schein said. “Rounding out the tech and distribution is really a good opportunity.”

Over allocation. Will the record-breaking flow of capital into PE coffers last year continue this year? All signs are pointing to yes. Check out Buyouts’ analysis of 10 key fundraising trends in 2021 that will spill over into 2022. Among the insights: “One potential obstacle to faster and bigger fundraising is LPs who are now at or above their allocation limits,” writes Kirk Falconer. “Some 23 percent of respondents to Private Equity International’s LP Perspectives 2022 study said they are over-allocated for this year, up from 13 percent in 2021 and the highest percentage since the first survey in 2018. In other words, PE could have a near-term supply problem. Among LPs with capital to commit, GPs returning to the market quickly with larger tickets may also encounter reluctance to make new commitments without first seeing more realizations from prior outlays.”

Help wanted. January is typically a big month for new hires and promotions, and this year, PE firms seem to be announcing more people moves than ever. Not surprising, given the ultra-fluid job market. This morning, GTCR announced that Andrew Johnson is joining the Chicago firm as principal and chief of marketing and communications, a newly created position. Among his responsibilities will be working with portfolio companies on broader initiatives including ESG-DEI, community engagement, digital/social media and hiring and recruiting the best talent.

We’re hiring too! If you know a private equity reporter who’d make a good addition to the Hub’s team, send ‘em my way: mk.flynn@peimedia.com

Nominations. We’re looking for your recommendations for rock star women in private equity, mostly on the deal side (which has been historically male-dominated). Deadline to get in your recs is January 17, for publication in March. Our annual Women in Private Equity project comprises 10 mini-profiles of highly regarded women in the industry and a feature story about some burning topic around the status of women in the industry. Check out our past coverage of Women in PE here. Reach Buyouts editor Chris Witkowsky with questions and recommendations at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com.

Deal of the Year: Get your nominations in now for your best exits (either full or majority) that closed in 2021. Awards are given in seven categories: overall deal of the year, large-cap, middle-market, small-cap, international, turnaround and secondaries. Deadline is Friday, Feb. 11. Send to Chris Witkowsky, private equity editor, at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com. Go here for all the rules and regs!

Have a good weekend, and see you Tuesday,
MK