Curing private equity 'zombies' - The Deal Pipeline

The term "zombie fund" is used to describe funds that have lived beyond their prime, having passed their designated time frame for creating value. This group includes not only funds that are beyond their fund terms, but also those that are beyond their investment period and perceived to be warehousing assets rather than returning capital to their LPs.

The term has gained currency in recent years due to the maturation of the private equity business. If the 1980s witnessed the establishment of today's successful franchises, the 1990s saw the widespread penetration of private equity into the institutional investor world. As increasing amounts of capital were deployed to private equity funds, manager proliferation became the norm.

Curing private equity 'zombies' - The Deal Pipeline (SAMPLE CONTENT: NEED AN ID?)

Frenzy of Deals, Once Expected, Seems to Fizzle - NYTimes.com

The wavering and unpredictable nature of animal spirits can resemble a boar suffering from BPD. I've been struggling with the disconnect between low interest rates and lack of actual acquisitions. Sellers have begun to realize that it's no longer 2007. But PE buyers are reluctant to swing for the fences.

Frenzy of Deals, Once Expected, Seems to Fizzle - NYTimes.com

A New View of the Corporate Income Tax - NYTimes.com

One of the least discussed and analyzed segments within lower middle market M&A is taxes. Not necessarily income taxes derived from operations, but tax implications of negative deferred tax liabilities and net operating losses.

A good benefit of effective tax schedules is that it enables companies to better allocate their resources, particularly with capex and operating liabilities.


A New View of the Corporate Income Tax - NYTimes.com

A Deal for BlackBerry That's Not Yet a Deal - NYTimes.com

It is quite unusual to announce any acquisition like this, let alone without financing. Most targets would require a commitment letter from banks that make financing more certain. Absent that, the target’s board would ask for at least a letter from the banks that states that the buyers were “highly confident” that financing would be obtained. These letters, invented by Michael Milken back in the 1980s for Drexel Burnham Lambert, are the realm of bidders who are unsure about financing. But at least the banks give some level of commitment in a highly confident level even if they can later back out.


A Deal for BlackBerry That's Not Yet a Deal - NYTimes.com

Beating the Market Has Become Nearly Impossible

Beating the Market Has Become Nearly Impossible | Institutional Investor

Leveraged buyout groups refinance record debt - FT.com

“All the businesses that lent themselves to be refinanced have been refinanced given the unprecedented market conditions driven by QE,” Matteo Canonaco, head of Financial Sponsors coverage at HSBC, said. “The market has grown addicted to QE and is watching closely the moves of the Fed as any form of exit takes us into uncharted territory.”

Private equity groups have sought to reassure investors they have put protections in place. Carlyle has about 60 per cent of its US companies’ debt and about three quarters of its European portfolio’s debt “at fixed rates or hedged”, co-founder Bill Conway said in July. New York-based rival KKR has about 87 per cent of its portfolio “either fixed or swapped to fixed” rates, Scott Nuttall, KKR’s head of capital and asset management, said that same month.

Leveraged buyout groups refinance record debt - FT.com

Shadow Capital

"Take, for example, the recent deal news from Canada, the Saudi Arabia of institutional direct-investment capital, which saw two public entities partner to acquire a business via their direct-investment programs. OMERS Private Equity (affiliated with the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System) and Alberta Investment Management Corp. will buy the European theater chain Vue Entertainment for C$1.5 billion. The money comes directly from the balance sheets of public pensions and endowments. If we assume that about $500 million in equity is going into this deal, it’s $500 million that in an earlier era would have gone through a fund and been counted in fundraising statistics."


Shadow Capital - Privcap