Private Equity

GIC’s real estate safe haven is hard to copy

26 Jul 2023

Singapore’s $690 bln sovereign fund nearly doubled its real estate allocations to 13% in three years. Its student homes to logistics portfolio provides a timely inflation hedge for one of the most active investors in its class. Peers trying to catch up will overpay.

Buyout barons feast on excesses of last boom

21 Jul 2023

The post-pandemic M&A frenzy is long over, but its legacy lives on in the generous loans that fueled a wave of leveraged takeovers. With debt now scarcer and twice as costly, investors like Blackstone and CD&R are crafting deals that take advantage of yesterday’s cheap credit.

Blackstone’s $1 trln target needs a sequel

20 Jul 2023

The Wall Street giant is the first of its kind to reach the client-asset milestone, if later than promised. It did so by elbowing aside old-school financial firms and de-emphasizing leveraged buyouts. Now that growth is slowing, Steve Schwarzman’s firm could use a new north star.

Bain’s Chindata buyout saga verges on absurd

13 Jul 2023

The US investment firm last month offered $2.9 bln for the Chinese data centre operator it already controls after potential rival bids yielded nothing. Now a state-backed group has bested Bain’s offer by 15%, yet is being ignored. It’s an odd way to get the best deal all round.

Temasek is betting on all its stars aligning

12 Jul 2023

Singapore’s state investor had a tricky year with its net value dropping 5.2% to $285 bln and the FTX debacle. Half its portfolio is in unlisted assets, so it’s relying on public markets picking up, Southeast Asia thriving and China recovering. Most of that is out of its hands.

Watchdog with teeth can help EU hunt unicorns

11 Jul 2023

Europe’s companies need capital to grow. Yet the bloc’s share of global capital markets is just 9%. A patchwork of national rules stymies Brussels’ efforts to foster cross-border investment. Creating home-grown corporate stars requires a securities regulator with real powers.

UK growth plan aims pea-shooter at monster problem

11 Jul 2023

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt wants Britain’s $2.5 trln pension system to invest more in private equity and startups. His scheme avoids the risky idea of forcing managers into buying British assets. But it’s too fuzzy and timorous to solve the country’s dismal lack of investment.

Private equity gears up for a deal fest Down Under

11 Jul 2023

Blackstone, EQT, CVC and peers are shifting resources to Australia, partly due to geopolitical tension. The country’s stumbling economy will also leave property, consumer and other firms ripe for buyouts. That means M&A battles – once inflation, rates and debt markets settle.

Worldpay deal gets buyouts halfway back to normal

6 Jul 2023

Private equity shop GTCR is scooping up 55% of the payments firm at an $18 bln valuation, gifting seller FIS a rich price without any IPO hassle. The transaction defies weak debt and M&A markets, but it also requires flexing fundraising muscles to underpin a huge cash outlay.

Capital Calls: JetBlue’s Spirit sacrifice

6 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: The budget airline says it won’t fight a court order nixing a partnership with a larger rival to allay concerns about its $4 bln deal for peer Spirit. It’s unlikely to satisfy antitrust enforcers.

Capital Calls: KKR’s reluctant bidding war

30 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: Despite pushing arguments about antitrust and financing risks, the buyout shop ended up parrying a rival suitor for industrials company Circor by matching it on price.

KKR adopts M&A’s new rules in bidding war

28 Jun 2023

A smaller private equity shop is gatecrashing Henry Kravis’s firm and its $1.7 bln deal to buy industrial company Circor. KKR’s response: offer more certainty, not a better price. Hawkish regulators and shaky debt markets are changing dealmakers’ priorities.

Brookfield finds it’s no fun to be half-married

27 Jun 2023

The private equity firm bought a stake in American Equity with a view to working together, but got disgruntled when the annuity provider partnered with a rival. Now Brookfield wants to buy the whole company for $4 bln. It’s the simplest way for both sides to get what they want.

Capital Calls: Canada is calling Meta’s bluff

23 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Facebook owner plans to pull news on its platforms in Canada after the country passed a bill that requires internet giants pay publishers. If Australia is any guide, Meta will eventually cave.  

Eni’s bet on gas comes at an acceptable price

23 Jun 2023

The Italian group and Var Energi, in which it holds a 63% stake, are buying Neptune Energy for $4.9 bln. The seller’s private equity owners once hoped for an IPO at twice that level. Bulking up in fossil fuels carries risks, but Eni’s price at least creates some sort of buffer.

Capital Calls: Intel Outside, Amazon Prime beef

21 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: The chipmaker struck a deal to sell 20% of a tool-making subsidiary, which should benefit from being put on a path to independence. Meanwhile, the $1.3 trln e-commerce company’s subscription service is unlawfully hard to cancel, says the US FTC.

KKR takes private markets right up to the checkout

20 Jun 2023

The buyout shop will acquire up to 40 bln euros of buy-now-pay-later loans from PayPal. That will feed a business growing 70% a year, and satisfy asset managers’ hunt for new big markets to pour dollars into. They may encroach on another domain once the preserve of banks.

Bain’s Swiss software bid merits hard pushback

20 Jun 2023

SoftwareOne rejected a $3 bln offer from the US buyout group. The bidder’s alliance with the founding shareholders puts it in a stronger position than with a recent approach for a similarly named company. But the returns look juicy, meaning it can probably afford to pay more.

Moncler can inspire Golden Goose’s next step

15 Jun 2023

Skirting a pandemic and war, the maker of Super-Star sneakers doubled sales to 500 mln euros in three years, with rich margins. That’s where Remo Ruffini’s down jackets brand stood before its 2013 IPO. It may tempt owner Permira into a $3 bln sale, or Moncler into a purchase.

Private equity risks gorging on its secret sauce

14 Jun 2023

Public-market investors prefer steady management fees over lumpy buyout profit. As a result, KKR and others funnel more so-called carry to employees instead. Peers Blackstone and Carlyle could recalibrate similarly, but taking a bigger cut also might irritate dealmakers.