At least for now,
With such a big bat to swing in the marketplace, Goldman Sachs has secured its place as a competitor to
Last year, for example, GS Capital Partners led consortia of investors in two management-backed deals: the $22 billion LBO of pipeline operator Kinder Morgan and in the $8.3 billion take-private of Aramark Inc.
The deal-making activity has begun to ruffle the feathers of buyout veterans. In comments made at a conference in New York last week, KKR co-founder Henry Kravis singled out Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley as investment banks that have managed to keep their private equity arms from presenting unwanted competition to buyout shops. Pointedly, Kravis did not place Goldman Sachs among that group, according to Bloomberg.
To assemble
The new fund more than doubles the size of Goldman Sachs’s vintage 2005, $8.5 billion
Although Goldman Sachs has become the first firm to officially reach the $20 billion fund-raising threshold, it’s expected to be joined soon by Blackstone, which is reported to be closing soon on $20 billion. In a regulatory filing earlier this year, Blackstone said it has closed on $18.1 billion. The firm originally closed its fund last year then reopened it to take in an estimated $4 billion more. KKR, meanwhile, has over $16 billion committed to its