Steve Gelsi
The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund OK’d $250 million in fresh commitments to new private equity funds from Vista Equity Partners, ABRY Partners, Valor EquityPartners and other GPs as the $32 billion retirement system moves to meet its target allocation for alternatives.
Varsity Healthcare Partners has raised at least $200 million from large family offices and is nearing its first acquisition since the firm was founded in late 2012 by veterans of Aurora Capital Group and Fenway Partners, according to two sources familiar with the firm.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co closed its KKR Energy Income and Growth Fund I with $2 billion in commitments, the latest in a string of fundraising successes for the New York-based buyout titan.
Oaktree Capital Management has set plans to raise its fourth mezzanine fund in a robust environment for the asset class as the Los Angeles distressed asset investor moves toward the end of the investment period for its fund series predecessor, Mezzanine Fund III.
Caesars Entertainment Operating Co will raise much-needed cash in the $2.2 billion sale of casinos to its majority-owned affiliate Caesars Growth Partners. But Moody’s said it may downgrade the company’s sizable debt load on the loss of EBITDA from the four properties included in the transaction.
Castlelake LP, which changed its name from TPG Credit Management LP just last year, hit the $1.4 billion hard cap for Castlelake III LP, the firm’s largest private equity fund and its first as an independent distressed debt and aviation finance specialist.
If your idea of a reasonable price for a technology company these days is 10x to 12x EBITDA, you may be in for some sticker shock. At first blush, Vista Equity Partners’s deal to buy Active Network last year for $1.05 billion appeared to be more than twice that level, although one could argue the price was far less.
Four senior GPs said middle-market players facing high auction prices for deals in 2014 are focusing on harvesting companies, building expertise and relationships in market niches to outflank rivals and stepping up growth efforts through add-on deals.
LPs may see improved investment prospects in venture capital and distressed debt funds over the next 12 to 18 months, while the potential returns of large European buyout funds may take a step up, according to an annual tactical summary by TorreyCove Capital Partners.
Newly-formed private investment firm Squire Ridge Co, founded by MCM Capital Partners veteran Steven Ross, has closed its first deal by teaming up with Chicago-based Isleworth Capital Partners and Omni Investors Group to recapitalize Dutchland Plastics Corp, a manufacturer with more than $20 million in revenue and 200-plus employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.