Fund Management

Making private equity more efficient

Jack Welch doesn't need an introduction. One of America's most revered managers, he spent 20 years at the helm of General Electric, the gravitydefying conglomerate which under his tenure grew into the world's most valuable company. In 2001, Welch became a private equity executive when he joined Clayton, Dubilier & Rice as a special partner. Currently promoting his new book, entitled Winning*, he took time out in May to talk to Philip Borel about private equity's role in industry today.

The country's recent budget contained an important concession to the private equity industry. Expect to see increased numbers of foreign GPs checking in at Sydney airport.

David Stockman's deal legacy at Blackstone is stellar. But his own private equity fund has hit the skids.

Two major “yellow pages” exits show that timely investments in directory companies were good calls.

Mary Ann Gray, former executive with the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for stealing more than $400k from the organisation.

The Toronto-based Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Pension has reported a higher-than-expected return on investments for 2004, crediting the boost to private market investments.

Although some will argue that the fund of fund phenomenon has yet to pass through an inevitable period of contraction, the impact they have already had in bringing private equity into the portfolios of previously untapped institutional investors has been huge. So how are they coping in today's tougher climate?

The Philadelphia private equity firm and the merchant banking arm of the investment bank Greenhill & Co. team up for another investment in the financial services industry, investing $40m for a minority stake in the specialty finance company.

There's no denying that the mid-market remains the major talking point in a French private equity market wrestling with competition and overly aggressive leverage. But, just over the horizon, lies a vision of a mature industry populated by well-differentiated managers. Andy Thomson reports.