Canada Private Equity

Canada Private Equity: Buyouts Up as VC Sinks

Buyouts in Canada are at a near-record fund-raising pace and private equity investment activity will likely rise too as asset valuations are expected to firm by the end of 2009. Unlike U.S. private equity firms' fund-raising--which has slowed dramatically since the last quarter of 2008--the Canadian buyout industry is one of the world's strongest. The Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) reports that over the past five years, Canada's private equity buyout industry has increased Canada's GDP by C$30 billion ($24.6 billion), creating more than 100,000 jobs.

Buyouts Investment Expected to Rise in 2009

The president of CVCA, Gregory Smith recently told Reuters: "I think we'll see some softness in terms of investment numbers in 2009, but the amount of money that's been raised by private independent funds, the size and liquidity of our pension plans in Canada, the strength of our financial institutions, our banks in Canada, will continue to put Canada in a very strong position for the mid-market in the buyout industry." Smith believes that 2009 will be a solid year for investment, "We had a very strong fund-raising year 2008 and it was strong in 2006 and 2007, which means we have a lot of capital that is available to invest in 2009."

As Buyouts Soar, Venture Capital Struggles

While Canada's buyout industry is a source of optimism, the country's venture capital sector is floundering. Investors began avoiding venture capital at the onset of the global economic crisis and they have yet to return, according to Mr. Smith. Surprising, as Canada's buyout industry prepares to break a fund-raising record, the venture capital sector reached its lowest deal activity in twelve years--just over C$1 billion in 2008.

And Smith believes that venture capital investment may decline even further in 2009. He says, "There's been a number of long-term venture capital firms in Canada, I'd say about a half of dozen in number, who have tried to raise new money to invest but have stopped fund-raising efforts because of the inability to raise capital."

The low numbers reflect the decline of an industry that has been struggling for years in Canada. It's tough enough finding funding for a small business or entrepreneur but even with investment an idea may fail to get commercial recognition as investors lose interest. Smith explains, "Good ideas can die because there's no place to go. I think that the global crisis will have a further dire consequence on what is already a very fragile venture capital industry in Canada."

Canada's Government to the Rescue

The CVCA has been working in conjunction with Canada's federal government to raise investment in venture capital. One example is the partnership announced this week between the country's biggest pension fund administrator and the Quebec province. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec announced a major venture capital deal with the Quebec government worth at least C$825 million. This follows a series of similar but smaller-scale venture capital deals with the local and federal government.

Smith also hopes to fix Canada's property regulation, Section 116 of the Income Tax Act, which may have been a reason why foreigners are investing elsewhere. By changing the Income Tax Act and working with the federal government, the CVCA hopes to drive up venture capital activity. As private equity buyout activity booms, Canada hopes to save its venture capital sector from going bust.


Source

Tags: Venture capital Canada, Canada buyout, Canada private equity, Canadian Private equity, Canadian venture capital, Canada private equity firms, Canada buyout firms, Canada private investment

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Private Equity in New York

Private Equity Hurt By New York Ban on Middlemen

The private equity industry suffered a blow from New York State as the comptroller banned the use of middlemen directing the pension fund's investments. The comptroller made the ban as a response to a growing investigation by the SEC and the New York Attorney General into possible bribes and fees received by two aides to the former comptroller. However, private equity funds may be the biggest victim in the aftermath.

Private equity firms rely heavily on such middlemen as placement agents, paid intermediaries and registered lobbyists to establish relations with big investors like the New York State Pension Fund. All of these intermediaries are now banned under the current comptroller's recent decision. The biggest fear for private equity firms is that this move is the start of a trend that will be copied by other states. Michael Holland, a former partner at the Blackstone Group and founder of Holland & Co. believes this is probable, "I think it is very likely to gather momentum. I'd be very surprised if other states don't follow that lead." (Reuters)

The ruling especially hurts smaller private equity funds which rely primarily on placement agents to attract capital. The use of placement agents has been growing in size over recent years and according to research firm Preqin, "Of the private equity firms that raised funds in 2008, 54 percent used a placement agent, up from 45 percent in 2007 and 40 percent in 2006." Those in the private equity industry call the decision unfair and say that placement agents serve a legitimate purpose for private equity.



Tags: Private equity, New York State Pension, Private Equity Fund, private equity investment, private equity placement agents, private equity lobbyist, blackstone group, private equity pension

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Start a Private Equity Fund

Starting a Private Equity Fund

Tips to Start a Private Equity Fund

Most private equity fund startups I speak with want referrals to respected service providers or advice on attracting seed capital. Almost none have a business plan for their private equity fund and only a few have PowerPoint presentations explaining their investment strategy.

If you are a fund manager in this position that doesn’t mean you have done anything wrong but you may consider writing both a private equity fund business plan and comprehensive 15-25 page PowerPoint presentation now to make it easier to work with service providers, third party marketers, institutional consultants, and potential investors.  To gain access to the contact details for thousands of private equity investors check out the Private Equity Investor Database.

Richard Wilson offers some helpful tips on starting a private equity or hedge fund.

Parts of your private equity fund business plan should include:

• Management - What team members are required to run the fund effectively? What is the chain of command, how are decisions made and what happens if 2-3 professionals disappeared tomorrow? Who would take over responsibilities and what would happen to your investors funds? The importance of a well constructed and managed team can not be overstated. 

• Investment Process & Risk Management - Managing risk is what running a private equity fund is all about. Meet with your prime brokerage firm’s risk advisory division, speak with your traders and portfolio managers, and network with other managers to pick up some best practices within this space. At the end of the day your risk management approach, investment process and team must be molded into one cohesive group all pointed in the right direction. There is no magic bullet to raising assets or gaining seed capital but getting this combination right is the most important thing you can focus on.

• Service Providers: Who are you going to use as your prime brokerage firm, fund administrator, auditor or third party marketer? How will this evolve as your fund passes the $100M and $300M marks? Will you use multi-prime brokerage services? Capital introduction teams? Multiple third party marketers? Your choice of firms within this space can affect the levels of assets you manage, the quality of advice you receive and the reputation of your firm as a whole. Our advice would be to meet and interview at least 3 service providers of each type in person or over several phone calls and go with one that is well experienced yet not so large that your sub $1B account is not an annoyance to them.
• Infrastructure & Technology: Meet with other local private equity fund managers, your trader, your prime brokerage firm and other service providers to nail down exactly what you will need in terms of reporting, processing and functioning as not only a private equity fund, but a small business. When you start a private equity fund you become an entrepreneur and you have to face all of the challenges that come with that position in addition to those challenges found in managing your portfolio. Many funds under-estimate the costs of some of the technology needed to operate as they grow beyond more simple $1-$5M fund operations.

• Marketing: Nothing is traded or managed until the dollars come in. Anyone who joins your firm or board will want to know how you are looking to grow your business. What channels of investors will you approach? Institutional investors including fund of private equity funds, consultants, large family offices and pension funds or smaller family offices, wealth management firms, high-net-worth individuals, and accredited investor clubs? Here is a hint, in our asset raising experience the later should be 80% of your focus if you are managing less than $100M. What resources do you or should you have in place to meet these goals? Third party marketers? Databases of investors? An in-house marketing specialist? How much does this cost and when should these resources be put in place? We offer a Private Equity Investor Database which includes more than 3,800 private equity investors that can jump start your capital raising efforts and raise your assets under management.

We will be expanding our thoughts here on what should be included in a Private Equity Fund Business Plan. We will also be providing an example business plan eventually that will provide you with a template to use for your own private equity fund startup work.  One of the first steps toward a successful private equity firm is having a large directory of private equity investors, consider the Private Equity Investor Database which includes thousands of private equity investors.

Tags: Private equity startup, private equity fund startup, private equity funds, private equity advice, private equity start up, private equity fund start up, startups, starting a fund, start a fund

Link to This Resource: Start a Private Equity Fund

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Private Equity EU

EU Law Adds More Regulation of Private Equity

Private equity in Europe has felt already been struggling in the economic downturn and a new draft Euriopean Union law threatens to make matters even more difficult for private equity firms.

A draft EU law that will be published next week would require any private equity group managing funds of at least €250m (£220m) total to report more information about its structure, strategy and investors. Simon Walker, head of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, estimates that this law will effect 86 UK private equity firms. That's in addition to the 16 large firms already complying with the voluntary transparency code enacted last year. Nine of the effected firms are venture capital and provide a seed capital for technology start-ups, an area which European politicians have been striving to encourage.

Another aspect of the draft EU legislation effects companies owned by private equity groups. Any private equity owned company with a turnover exceeding €50m would have to submit an annual report of its finances, strategy and outlook. Mr. Walker estimated that 500-600 UK firms would be affected by the law. According to his "quick estimate by a big four accountant" he calculates that the firms will have to pay an additional £25,000 to £30,000 cost in order to comply with the new law.

Strangely, according to Mr. Walker the law would apply to a company outside the EU if it is possessed by a EU private equity firm. On the other hand, if a UK firm is purchased by a private equity firm it does not have to adhere to the new law.

Mr. Walker criticized the new law predicting: "This will provide a profound disincentive to be owned by a private equity fund. Will it be passed on through increased costs for investors? I think so."


Source

Tags: Private equity, private equity eu, private equity legislation, private equity law, private equity filings, private equity europe, european private equity, private equity firms in Europe

Link to This Resource: Private Equity EU

http://privateequityblogger.com/2009/04/private-equity-eu.html

China Private Equity Investment

China's State Pension Fund to Invest in Private Equity

Some exciting news from China: the country's pension fund, the National Social Security Fund, has announced that it is interested in investing with 3-5 private equity funds this year. The state pension fund is enlisting the private equity funds help manage some of its US$82 billion portfolio.

Chairman Dai Xianglong said at the Boao Forum for Asia, "We will pick at least 3-5 private equity firms this year, focusing on investing in small and medium businesses and the service industry." By purchasing equity stakes in state firms, the pension fund hopes to limit its bond exposure and increase its holdings to at least $1 trillion yuan. Dai did not say if the fund would invest in domestic or foreign markets.

Although the pension fund is allowed to invest up to 20% of its assets abroad, it only invested $1.66 billion outside China by the end of 2007. In addition to investing with private equity funds, the NSSF's chairman expressed hopes of using the Chinese yuan currency to invest directly overseas. While the yuan is not entirely convertible, financial regulators have called for a greater use of the currency with the Chinese central bank governor even calling for the yuan replacing the U.S. dollar as the world's primary reserve currency.

Source


Tags: China private equity, private equity investment china, Chinese private equity, national pension fund, National Social Security Fund, China pension fund, private equity pension fund

Link to This Resource: China Private Equity Investment

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PBS Nightly Business Report Interview Transcript

PBS Transcript

Nightly Business Report Interview

Below please find a transcript that I was sent earlier today via email:

The PBS program Nightly Business Report is pleased to release a transcript of its exclusive interview with SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro. This is the Schapiro’s first television interview since taking the reins of the SEC.

STEPHANIE DHUE, CORRESPONDENT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT: You told credit rating agencies the status quo wasn’t good enough. When will we see changes in the way they do business?

MARY SCHAPIRO, CHARIMAN, SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION: As you know we held a roundtable yesterday on credit rating agencies and we brought in about 30 experts from academia, from the investment community from labor unions and from the credit rating agencies themselves to talk about the short comings in the current model of credit rating agencies. And we had an enormous amount of information from all of these participants and a lot of issues for us to parse and to really think about, so I can't tell you a specific time when I think we'll be done on that issue, but we will be very much informed by what we learned yesterday from all these experts and proceed hopefully sometime this summer to propose some additional enhancements.

STEPHANIE DHUE: So you think new regulations will be needed, the regulations that have been put in place don't just need enough time to work?

MARY SCHAPIRO: Some of the regulations are new they haven't really had enough time to work. But I think there are some additional things we need to focus on to align the interests of the credit rating agencies with the users of the ratings, investors, as opposed to the issuers of the security. And that's really important to us because investors relied on credit ratings, they were badly misled in many cases, and if we want to bring integrity back to the ratings process, we've got to find a way for the ratings agencies to serve the users of the ratings and that's investors.

STEPHANIE DHUE: Would you be prepared to take away a company's "nationally recognized" status as a credit rating agency to punish them if they don't get their act together?

MARY SCHAPIRO: I think if somebody has the nationally recognized rating from the SEC and they violate the law, that's absolutely something we would consider doing.

STEPHANIE DHUE: We're just about in the throws of proxy season and shareholder activists are pushing hard to reign in executive pay, will you help them to get rid of non responsive board members by giving them access to the proxy?

MARY SCHAPIRO: We are very committed to giving long term, serious investors access to the proxy and we should propose rules on that probably in a month or so for the commission to consider and to put out for comment. But it's real important, especially given the crisis that we are going through right now that boards be ever more accountable to owners of the company, the shareholders. So we are very committed to moving ahead on responsible proxy access as soon as possible.

STEPHANIE DHUE: Responsible proxy access - how far do you go?

MARY SCHAPIRO: I think we have to grant access to the proxy to longer term shareholders of some size in terms of their share holdings, there has been lots of debate about should you have to own 5% or 1% of a company's stock, or should we have a tiered approach, where depending on the size of the company the threshold for stock ownership might be different. So we are looking at all of those different options and we will propose something in about a month which we think will provide very good and responsible access.

STEPHANIE DHUE: Just before the financial meltdown banks that owned money market funds were quietly shoring up funds they were concerned would break the buck, or would have broken the buck if they didn't pour money in, largely unbeknownst to investors. What changes are you going to make to money market mutual funds and the way they are regulated?

MARY SCHAPIRO: Money market funds are an enormously important part of the financial system, there are 4 trillion dollars in money market funds and investors rely on them enormously. So from my perspective, it's really critical that the SEC take all the steps it can to bolster confidence in money market funds. So we are going to look at proposing rules very shortly that will enhance the credit quality of money market holdings, shorten maturities, and therefore increase liquidity and hopefully make them more resilient in an economic crisis then we learned they were in this past fall.

STEPHANIE DHUE: Do you think investors should be concerned about money market funds, there is the insurance now, but are there still dark areas there? Will we see more turmoil?

MARY SCHAPIRO: It's hard to predict whether we'll see more turmoil there, but I think investors can have confidence in the basic integrity of money market funds. The insurance program is in place, as you mentioned, and we will take the steps necessary to again restore their resilience in times of economic crisis.

STEPHANIE DHUE: The SEC has been involved in investor education on Ponzi schemes, particularly in light of the Madoff scandal, are you getting more people calling in with tips about Ponzi schemes and what are you doing with that information?

MARY SCHAPIRO: We receive close to a million tips per year at the agency and we need to handle them better and more effectively then we have historically, and we are reviewing from A to Z our process so we can be more effective with them. But I will tell you the number of Ponzi schemes that we are detecting early on and stopping, shutting down immediately has grown dramatically in the time that I've been here and I think to quote Warren Buffett, “when the tide goes out we see who's been swimming naked” and that's what's happened with Ponzi schemes. They can't maintain the scheme in more difficult economic times and as a result they are being exposed earlier on.

STEPHANIE DHUE: You certainly do have your work cut out for you, you're also looking at Bank of America and bonuses that they paid to Merrill Lynch, if you find that they didn't disclose that information like they should, what's the punishment for that?

MARY SCHAPIRO: We're looking very carefully about the disclosure of the bonuses and I've said that to a member of Congress who inquired about it, and if it turns out to be inappropriate it will be referred to our enforcement division and then we have the full range of sanctions that we can imply in the conduct of an enforcement case.
STEPHANIE DHUE: But even though you've been making all these efforts, the SEC, given its handling of the financial crisis is under fire and some critics say, you know, it's time to scrap it and start over, maybe fold it into the CFTC or just do away with it, they haven't done their job. What do you see for this agency in the next five years?

MARY SCHAPIRO: I don't think that there's any doubt that the agency has had a difficult couple of years, but I think now more than ever, particularly in a crisis, we need a competent, very aggressive, very activist Securities and Exchange Commission. We are the only federal agency charged with protecting investors, those are our constituents, those are the people we should be serving and I'm highly committed to doing that. I would not have come to the SEC if I didn't feel like I had the freedom to move the agency in that direction. The markets are critically important, restoring investor confidence in the market is important, that's not going to happen if the SEC isn't doing a first class job and that's what we're committed to do.

STEPHANIE DHUE: Can the SEC do the job, can they police the markets, or does it just give people a false sense of security that their investments are being protected, when they're not.

MARY SCHAPIRO: I think the SEC can do the job. Does that mean we'll never miss a fraud or we'll never miss a scam? Of course not, the markets are enormous. We're an agency of only 3,500 people with close to 30,000 regulated entities, so we're small for the task, but with that said I think with an aggressive enforcement program, with a regulatory response to problems as they begin to emerge, so that the rules are written that protect the public more effectively, I think we can do a very, very good job. That said, investing always has risks and investors always need to have that in the front of their minds.

STEPHANIE DHUE: We've been speaking with Mary Schapiro, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, thanks for joining us.

MARY SCHAPIRO: Thanks it was my pleasure.



Tags: PBS Nightly Business Report Interview Transcript, PBS Interview Transcripts, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, Mary Schapiro, SEC

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New York Pension Fund

Private Equity Firms in Pension Fund Scandal

New York state and federal authorities are investigating whether several private equity firms and hedge funds--including the Carlyle Group--participated in an illicit scheme to secure investments from the New York state pension fund.

According to the Washington Post:

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has subpoenaed several firms that got business from the $122 billion pension fund after using the services of a middleman who connected investment firms with potential investors, the sources said. Cuomo and the Securities and Exchange Commission have alleged that the middleman won business for the firms through illicit payments.

Additionally, the firms are being investigated to see whether they failed to disclose their using the middleman to the pension fund, to find if the fund was aware of the special treatment that the various firms were receiving. According to court documents, the New York state pension fund has invested the most with the Carlyle Group. The private equity firm was involved in five investments with an estimated $730 million in capital from the pension fund.

Carlyle's spokeman offered the following statement, "Carlyle has fully cooperated with the New York Attorney General's investigation. We understand this is an industry-wide investigation and that we are not the focus of the investigation." And referring to Carlyle Group's previously scrutinized relationships with consultants the spokesman said, "Our agreements with placement agents, whether large Wall Street firms or smaller broker-dealers, call for all parties to abide by all laws to ensure the integrity of the investment process. Carlyle is pleased to currently serve the pensioners of New York, Illinois and Connecticut and has achieved excellent returns in several funds on their behalf."

This investigation follows the criminal and civil charges filed by the New York Attorney General and the SEC against the former top aide to former New York comptroller and the pension fund's former chief investment officer. The two have been accused of receiving bribes and gifts for directing pension fund money toward investment firms. While they deny any wrongdoing, court documents claim that they received $30 million in fees and gifts.

The use of consultants is not in itself unlawful, and many investment firms see consultants as a necessary means to receiving an audience with a pension fund. The accusation is that investment firms paid bribes and fees in order to obtain investments from the pension fund. The SEC's complain asserts that at least some of the firms were fully aware of the illicit arrangement: "Private equity firms and hedge fund managers . . . together paid millions of dollars to Morris and others in the form of sham 'finder' or 'placement agent' fees in order to obtain those investments from the Retirement Fund. These payments to Morris and others were, in fact, little more than kickbacks that were made pursuant to undisclosed quid pro quo arrangements."

The problem of pay-to-play practices is not exclusive to New York and the Attorney General Cuomo did not rule out the possibility of the investigation expanding to other firms and funds. Recently, the Connecticut Attorney General reached a near half-million dollar settlement in a case where a broker was secretly compensated for directing pension-plan business to insurers.

The New York investigation is ongoing and has been for over two years, and just recently the SEC joined the case.

Source: WP


Tags: New York Attorney General, SEC investigation, Private Equity, Private Equity Pension Funds, Private Equity Pension Fund Scandal, New York Pension Fund, Private Equity Hedge Fund Consultant

Link to This Resource: New York Pension Fund

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Jonathan Russell | 3i Group PLC

Jonathan Russell Criticizes EU Plans for Regulation

Jonathan Russell, managing director of 3i Group PLC has been a leading voice in negotiations with the European Commission over proposed regulations that will include small and medium-sized firms. The original legislation was designed to target large private equity firms and hedge funds but has also ensnared smaller portfolio companies.

Firms with more than EUR500 million for funds and EUR100 million for a company's enterprise value will be subject to the proposed regulations which Russell says are "unwarranted disclosure rules that go beyond even those required by publicly-listed companies."

The Wall Street Journal has more on 3i Group PLC's Jonathan Russell:

"The proposals completely miss the point and instead impose an unnecessarily costly burden on companies about which no-one is concerned," said Jonathan Russell, managing director of 3i Group PLC (III.LN), who has spearheaded the European industry body's negotiation over the proposals.

"The rules as drafted will also make Europe a less attractive place to deposit capital, driving away investors," he added.

Earlier Wednesday, the European Commission published new disclosure requirements for hedge funds and private equity firms that will catch much smaller firms than the regulator initially considered.

The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association's main complaints center on the "one size fits all" approach adopted by the commission which has lumped hedge funds and private equity funds together.

EVCA says that private equity managers, unlike hedge funds, don't pose a systemic risk because they only use leverage at their underlying portfolio companies - not at the fund or manager level.

Read more...

To see more on 3i Group PLC, please see our 3i Group private equity tracker profile.

Tags: 3i group, 3i group plc, 3i group private equity, private equity 3i, private equity europe, private equity tracker profiles, 3i group plc private equity, European private equity firms

Link to This Resource: Jonathan Russell | 3i Group PLC

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Verizon Buyout

Private Equity Firms Bidding on Verizon Assets

Verizon's wireless telephone assets are attracting bids from large private equity firms, according to sources close to the situation.

Major private equity firms including Carlyle Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Blackstone Group (BX.N). Carlyle Group and KKR teamed up for a joint offer and the Blackstone Group offered a bid before last week's deadline. However, rival telecommunications companies also bid in the auction. Verizon said that over 30 bidders expressed interest in purchasing the assets and the auction will take place over several months.

Verizon Communications is divesting its wireless telephone assets after its acquisition of the rural wireless company, Alltel Corp, in January. In order to gain regulatory approval for the deal, Verizon has to divest airwaves in 105 markets. Verizon and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) (VOD.N) own Verizon Wireless. The acquisition of Alltel Corp. made the largest U.S. wireless carrier in terms of subscribers, overtaking AT&T.


Tags: Private equity verizon, buyout verizon, buyout bid verizon, buyout telecommunications, private equity telecommunications, private equity buy verizon, verizon private company, Verizon assets

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Private Equity 2009 Data

2009 Q1 Report Shows Investors Still on Sidelines

The latest report from PitchBook Data covers the first quarter of 2009. It reveals that although fundraising has remained strong, private equity investors are still hesitant to invest any of that capital. PitchBook's CEO, John Gabbert, sums up the findings best, "...despite having raised record amounts of capital over the past two years, private equity investors are still waiting on the sidelines for the current economic conditions to stabilize, the credit markets to return, and valuations to adjust before they really get back to doing new deals.”

The key statistics for private equity Q1 2009 are:

• Only 188 investments were completed in the first quarter, while 440 were in Q3 and 279 in Q4 of 2008. Compared to Q1 2008, investment activity dropped by 68%, with a 70% fall in buyouts.
• The credit crunch has cut the number of deals over $250 million to just 12% of Q1 deals. Instead, private equity investors are turning to minority investments and acquisitions of middle-market companies. This led the median deal amount to drop from $61 million in 2008 to $25 million this quarter.
  
• The amount that private equity firms invested during this quarter reached a new low of only $12.8 billion, compared to $52.7 billion invested during the same period last year--and the remarkable $177 billion invested in Q4 of 2007.
• Breaking it up by industry: In Q1 2009, 53 investments were completed in the Consumer Products and Services industry. The Business Products and Services industry followed at second with 46 transactions and then Healthcare with 28. The Energy industry felt the biggest drop in investment activity, with a more than 60% drop from last quarter at just 9 completed investments.
  

For the full report from see Pitchbook

Tags: Private equity, private equity investors, private investors, private equity news, private equity data, private equity pitchbook data, pitchbook data, private equity information

Link to This Resource: Private Equity 2009 Data

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