Private markets used to be just a stepping-stone to public markets, where the really serious capital was available. However, as Frederick Pollock, MD of US-based Grosvenor Capital Management points out, with bigger deals now possible privately, more companies are avoiding going public. Show More
Did you know that 98% of all companies in Europe and the US with revenues in excess of $10 million are not listed? Not only that, but the number of listed companies have been steadily decreasing since the mid 1990’s. In collaboration with Chicago based Grosvenor Capital Management, the Pengana... Show More
The Emerging Companies Fund, under joint management by CVC and Evans Dixon, now gives wholesale investors access to the kind of early-stage investment opportunities commonly reserved for private money. Show More
Private equity can provide investors with uncorrelated and compelling returns and diversification benefits. This has clearly been noticed by the highly successful Future Fund which has almost 15% of its portfolio exposed to this asset class. We discussed some of the opportunities and challenges in private equity today with Fred... Show More
Producing outsized returns requires doing something differently to other investors. One way of achieving this is by investing in companies before they list on the ASX and other investors have the chance to get on board. Jonathan Pearce, Portfolio Manager at the CVC Emerging Companies Fund, likes to take a... Show More
At the end of 2018 the US Federal Reserve backflipped on their plans to continue hiking interest rates. Why? Well to put it simply, it seems that they underestimated the effects that tightening monetary policy would have across asset markets. Show More
Elon Musk, the divisive entrepreneur, has recently made headlines with the below tweet. In a subsequent blog post, Musk made clear his reasons for wanting to take his electric vehicle company, Tesla, away from the stockmarket. He expressed his frustration at the distraction caused by wild swings in the Tesla... Show More
The average return on new listings in 2017 was over 60%. Having some exposure can add to your returns, but there are plenty of landmines to avoid. Cyan is active in this market and Dean Fergie discusses their approach in this exclusive interview, including one recent listing that passed the... Show More
A recent market report from Pitcher Partners found that M & A activity in 2017 increased 55% compared with the prior year, with numerous industry players such as Morgan Stanley, KPMG, and more all suggesting that M & A activity is showing no signs of slowing down just shy of... Show More
One of the more important issues that private equity firms face today is one that should feel familiar to public market investors; overvaluation. In the US, the average buyout valuation was 10.9 times EBITDA in 2016, which exceeds 2007 peak despite lower levels of leverage. Show More
Investors have traditionally turned to the share market for growth, but with the ASX 200 still sitting well below its pre-GFC highs, alternative investments are becoming increasingly popular. From less than 5% of the industry in ’97, alternative assets now account for nearly 20% of funds under management. Show More
In The Australian Financial Review I argue that the private equity buyers circling Fairfax should consider the embedded optionality inherent in the development of what I call the "Financial Amazon" business model that could be worth multiples Domain and transform the way banks compete to provide their products to customers... Show More
Private equity funds have been viewed as one way to help the mining industry out of its cyclical funding morass and speed up the stalled development of mining projects. My discussions over the past fortnight in Asia have convinced me that there may be the odd deal her and there... Show More
Not all IPOs are created equal. It isn't imprudent, considering recent events, to ask yourself: “If I buy shares in an IPO that represents an exit by a private equity group, will I be comprehensively done over?” Show More
Want to know how to turn $10m into $520m in less than two years? Just ask Anchorage Capital. The private equity group has pulled off one of the great heists of all time, using all the tricks in the book, to turn Dick Smith from a $10m piece of mutton... Show More
Anand Vasagiri, Co Portfolio Manager at the Paradice Small Mid Cap Global Fund, shares his views on the attributes of companies that have been the targets of takeover activity. While investments are never made with the expectation of M&A outcomes The Paradice Global portfolio has seen 14 companies taken over... Show More
This year Private Equity companies have sold $73 billion of their buyouts to the public, a record amount over a six month period. Lise Buyer, founder of IPO advisory firm Class V Group says “It’s clear that we are currently in an environment of frothy valuations. The insiders – those... Show More
After the news of Qihoo’s management buyout bid last week, investors have been “feverishly looking for other Chinese (listed) companies that are planning to privatise”, says Neil Flynn, Portfolio Manager at Alcuin Asset Management. This speculative momentum has pushed the shares of social networking and instant messaging app Momo. But... Show More
Record amounts of money headed for PE funds. M&A activity has been tipped to spike in the years ahead (note Toll Holdings bid this morning http://goo.gl/jhP4Ez). Jeremy Bendeich from Avoca Investment Management says, M&A will increasingly play a role in the Australian equity market over the next year or two... Show More
Go back a few years and PE was a dirty word in listed equity markets after a number of disastrous floats. Today we are awash with PE floats and fundies are falling over themselves to buy the latest hot issue. Do we have short memories or has something changed? Firstly,... Show More