Christopher Witkowsky
The $153bn pension allocated $200m to Bank of America for investments with emerging managers, and $350m to minority-owned Parish Capital as part of its emerging private equity managers programme.
A survey conducted at PEI Media’s annual CFO and COO Forum in New York also revealed that one in 10 firms have recently experienced a defaulting limited partner.
Infrastructure and renewable energy are the hot sectors right now for private equity firms, but US President Barack Obama's plans for the sectors will determine how attractive they remain to private investors.
A $6bn fund targeting financial services closed last year will downsize to $4.5bn in commitments. TPG is telling investors an influx of US government rescue cash to the sector has diminished opportunities.
The Toronto Stock Exchange-traded alternative asset manager has reduced the final target for its buyout fund to $4bn from $4.5bn, but can increase its commitment in the future.
The company, which owns the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, could not sustain its debt load as its experienced significant declines in sales amid the downturn of the US economy.
Standard & Poor’s has a bleak outlook for the US retail sector in 2009. The ratings agency has ranked three retail companies backed by private equity firms at risk of defaulting on their debt payments.
David Swensen, chief investment officer of Yale’s $17bn endowment, said efforts to emulate Yale’s investment strategy would fail if other institutions use consultants and funds of funds to make investment decisions, instead of hiring a team of in-house professionals, according to a report.
Ezra Merkin, the chairman of the Cerberus-backed financing company, resigned his position Friday as part of an overall board restructuring required by the US government for the company to become a bank holding company. Merkin is also being sued over links between a separate investment fund he controls and the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.
The sale of Lehman Brothers Real Estate, which controls $9.7bn of funds, is expected in the first quarter of 2009, sources say. It comes as the private equity arm of the failed bank, Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, is partially spun out as an independent firm. LPs are being allowed to reduce their unfunded commitments by 25%.