Just Linking Around

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has issued its annual World Investment Report, which indicates that more than half of private equity fund capital is being used for foreign direct investment. In 2005, that meant more than $100 billion being disbursed outside of a firms headquartered country.

You might not think this is not terriblynoteworthy in a global economy and you and I might agree — particularly since a growing percentage of limited partner commitments also is coming from foreign sources. But the UN sees some problems. Specifically, it appears wary of the general PE model, which does not provide the type of technology transfer typically associated with cross-border M&A. It also has that pesky investment lifespan problem (i.e., the quick flip phenomenon), plus a perception of accelerated layoffs.

The entire report is available here, while NY Times Dealbook provides a good roundup.

*** Paul Graham with an instructive primer on the 18 Mistakes That Kill Startups.

*** Josh Kopelman on Waterfall Forecasts.

*** John Cook on the Trubion Pharma IPO. It wasnt pretty, but at least it got done.

*** Finally, I am pleased to announce that the second-day keynote speaker at Buyouts Symposium West will be Dipanjan Deb, a founder and managing partner of Francisco Partners. As previously announced, the first-day keynote speaker is John Riccitiello, co-founder of Elevation Partners and former president of Electronic Arts.

The event takes place on November 6-7 at

Stanford Court

in San Francisco. Hope to see many of you there.