Private Equity

Buyout barons are finance now, for good and ill

17 Apr 2025

Tariff tumult cut $50 bln of value from Blackstone, Apollo, KKR and Carlyle. They traded like banks and insurers, rather than the portfolio companies they invest in and lend to. It’s a sign that private markets are part of mainstream finance, and prone to the same investor fears.

China stocks are still a trade, not an investment

2 Apr 2025

Global traders are returning to Chinese equities but long-term investment allocations have lagged. The $14 trln onshore market remains an IPO wasteland where fast foreign money prevails over buy-and-hold. Beijing’s private sector support will struggle to offset US aggression.

Dun & Bradstreet crystallizes buyout-shop woes

24 Mar 2025

The business-data cruncher, whose roots go back to 1841, is being bought again, this time by private equity firm Clearlake. At $8 bln, the price is about the same as its pre-IPO sale five years ago. A lower multiple and knottier funding typify the stress in such deals nowadays.

Buyout barons risk choking on their stuck assets

13 Mar 2025

Blackstone, KKR, CVC and their ilk have $3 trln of companies to sell. The backlog is too big for public markets or corporate buyers to absorb. That implies a new era for the industry of longer holding periods, lower returns, and a further push to win individual investors' cash.

The debit and credit of the private lending boom

11 Mar 2025

Loans supplied by funds have swelled to some $2 trln, disrupting regular banks. In this episode of The Big View podcast, Huw van Steenis of Oliver Wyman explores the drivers of the industry’s rapid growth, how much bigger it could get, and what risks it might be storing up.

Panama deal puts CK Hutchison in a sea change

6 Mar 2025

How the Hong Kong conglomerate uses the $19 bln in proceeds from the sale of its global ports will be a key test for Chair Victor Li. His flagship group has been deleveraging and increasing payouts. If geopolitics don't get in the way, the Li empire is overdue a big purchase.

WPP woe advertises scope for shiny buyout

28 Feb 2025

The $9 bln UK group’s shares fell 16% after it warned sales may flatline in 2025. A shaky backdrop for deals means industry rivals are unlikely to pounce on their discount rival. But if a private equity shop can copy the success of rival Publicis it can make a neat return.

Thames fix is acid test for UK, and privatisation

27 Feb 2025

Britain’s biggest water utility has received a number of rescue bids. If the likes of buyout group KKR can get a return while keeping Thames Water creditors onside, it would boost both the UK’s flagging FDI appeal and the global case for privatisation. That’s a big if, though.

Seven & i hurtles towards a shareholder showdown

27 Feb 2025

The shares fell 11% after the family behind the $42 bln owner of 7-Eleven gave up trying to take it private. Pushy investors are likely to use the upcoming AGM to press the board to justify its weak strategy and engage properly with Couche-Tard, its unwanted Canadian suitor.

Nissan offers suitors daunting risk-reward trade

24 Feb 2025

KKR has joined Foxconn in mulling an investment, and some Japanese bigwigs may want to involve Tesla. CEO Makoto Uchida’s turnaround plan could roughly triple the carmaker’s valuation. But it means cutting sticky costs, halting sliding sales and hiking prices. It’s a tall order.

EQT’s new boss has a private-credit hole to fill

17 Feb 2025

Per Franzén will replace CEO of six years Christian Sinding at the $40 bln Swedish buyout firm. EQT’s valuation premium to rivals has shrivelled, partly because fixed-income shops like Ares have soared. Franzén, who lacks a private-credit unit, may want to think about buying one.

Buyout firms’ equity-debt double act is creaking

14 Feb 2025

Groups such as Blackstone and Apollo spent trillions of dollars buying companies when interest rates were low. They also provided loans to buyouts. As borrowing costs have risen, tensions between the two are mounting. Private credit’s future growth will depend on other borrowers.

Buyout barons’ evergreen rush is risky money tree

12 Feb 2025

Private-market firms from KKR to Blackstone are creating funds with no set payback date to target mom-and-pop investors. Letting clients withdraw cash at will jars with the nature of illiquid assets. The race to create a $13 trln market may see returns fall.

Blackstone safely stays in its own high-speed lane

6 Feb 2025

The buyout shop raised another $4 bln from rich folks in January alone, leveraging its brand power the old-fashioned way. Rivals are getting creative with ETFs and partnerships. Unless and until they pose a threat, there’s little reason for boss Steve Schwarzman to change course.

KKR-Bain standoff tests Japan’s buyout patience

4 Feb 2025

There were bound to be missteps in the fledgling deal boom. But the slow grind between the US private equity duo for $4 bln Fuji Soft is anathema to Tokyo’s desire for efficient transactions. The incentive for the regulator to find a way to hasten M&A proceedings is growing.

Larry Fink’s legacy project is a work in progress

29 Jan 2025

The BlackRock chief’s deal savvy helped build a fund management colossus. A recent $28 bln splurge on infrastructure specialist GIP, private lender HPS, and data firm Preqin requires a hefty earnings bump to pay off. There’s much to do before the 72-year-old hands over the reins.

A TikTok deal may be good for US-China trade

22 Jan 2025

President Trump has warned of 100% tariffs on the People's Republic if Beijing doesn't approve a sale of the video app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. How such a deal would look is unclear, but it'd be an easy way for both sides to show goodwill ahead of thornier trade talks.

RedNote TikTok influx is more curse than blessing

20 Jan 2025

More than 3 mln Americans joined the Tencent- and Alibaba-backed Chinese social media platform as its bigger rival's ban neared. The refugees are sparking cross-cultural repartee but also pushing up RedNote's costs and causing security concerns, complicating its path to an IPO.

Ping An’s tech dreams may yet exit intensive care

16 Jan 2025

The $110 bln insurer’s days of spinning off web-based ventures to help boost its value are long over. But a quirky special dividend is giving it back majority control of beaten-down but cash-rich Ping An Healthcare just as the online medical firm’s fortunes look set to improve.

Tokyo’s property boom looks built to last

27 Dec 2024

Office vacancy rates in the city are around 3%, well below London and New York, and hotel occupancy rates are high. Transaction volumes will remain robust through 2025 as private equity and sovereign funds descend on Japan. That should keep the hot market from overheating.