Market At A Glance

The largest deals of the latest two weeks were TPG Capital LP’s acquisition of airline Midwest Air Group Inc. for approximately $260 million and Mariner Energy Inc.’s acquisition of StatoilHydro ASA’s Gulf of Mexico shelf operations for $243 million.

On the fundraising front, buyout and mezzanine firms have started to get some traction during this winter season, despite the very icy start to 2008. Year-to-date activity climbed to $19.4 billion compared with the $9.3 billion reported two weeks earlier and the less than $1 billion raised as of one month ago. During the past two weeks, Jordan Co. completed the final closing of its second fund with $3.6 billion in commitments, and TCW/Crescent Mezzanine Fund V held a first closing at $1.4 billion.