Steve Gelsi

When Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered emergency measures to prevent worker abuse at New York’s nail salons earlier this year, executives at private equity-backed nail salon chain MiniLuxe applauded.

With buyouts of portfolio companies commanding big EBITDA multiples and uncertainty over how much longer the good times may last, some private equity firms appear to be moving more rapidly to flip their investments for quick gains.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s pending $12 billion deal to buy Antares Capital from General Electric Co marks its largest acquisition to date as the $216 billion retirement systems looks to add a “large, scalable and growing opportunity” offered by the largest player in U.S. middle-market loans, a key CPPIB executive said.

Despite trepidation over high buyout prices, more than 60 percent of institutional investors expect private equity to increase its share in a balanced investment portfolio through allocations to the asset class in the next three-to-five years, according to a new study by Coller Capital.

Trilantic Capital Partners has reached about $778 million for its European companion fund to its $2.2 billion flagship Trilantic Capital Partners V, according to a source.

Cerberus Capital Management, GSO Capital Partners and Centerbridge Partners LP are reportedly in the mix for the fate of Samson Resources, the oil and gas producer backed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co carrying $4 billion in debt in the face of a sharp drop in oil prices in the past year.

Years after First Atlantic Capital Ltd closed its fourth buyout fund, the firm has raised an additional $160 million to support the portfolio, according to filings and sources.

The vintage 2004 Bowmark Capital III rang up an IRR of 29.2 percent as of Dec. 31, 2013, for the California Emerging Ventures portfolio managed by Grove Street Advisors for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. The performance beat the top-quartile threshold of 22.2 percent and the median of 12.9 percent for that vintage year, according to an annual benchmarking study by Buyouts. Charles Ind, joint managing partner of Bowmark Capital, spoke about the fund in a telephone interview. 

The $437 million cash sale of luxury home products maker WWRD Holdings Ltd to strategic buyer Fiskars Corp capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the 24-year history of KPS Capital Partners, the co-founder of the industrial turnaround specialist said.

Private equity firms need to be able to articulate why they exist and how they can help their clients achieve their goals. That’s where Castle Hill Capital Partners Inc hopes to help: in branding a unique message.