News and Analysis

Firm: Francisco Partners Fund: Agility Fund Target: $500 mln Francisco Partners Management LP recently told its limited partners it’s launching a new fund, called Agility, with a $500 million target aimed at smaller tech deals, according to sources. The size range of deals on which the Agility fund will focus is unclear. A spokesman for […]

Final close includes $48 mln of co-investment Firm to finalize new platform acquisition, Blacksmith Applications Robert Morse, Adrian Polak launched firm in 2013 Strattam Capital, formed by former Oak Hill and Rockwood Capital executives, wrapped up fundraising for its debut fund on $157 million, two sources told Buyouts. The fund hit the fundraising market in 2014. […]

Vista Equity pays 44x projected EBITDA for Cvent Firm plans to grow margins at event management software company Cerberus selling nearly $9 bln in residential mortgage-backed securities The $1.65 billion buyout of Cvent Inc by Vista Equity Partners seems pretty pricey at first blush. The buyout firm said April 18 it would pay $36 a share […]

GPs should watch for the next big issues on the SEC’s radar as the agency moves forward with its increased scrutiny of the industry. These include ensuring that firms have robust cybersecurity policies in place and paying more attention to waterfall distribution calculations and end-of-fund-life issues. Going forward, the agency will focus on these themes along […]

Audit found appearance of overpayment of fees So far, system found no instances of overpayment New team to assess validity, accuracy of capital calls Kentucky Retirement Systems wasn’t double-checking the capital calls it paid to fund managers and, for a little while, it appeared as though the deeply underfunded pension system overpaid investment fees on […]

Regulator takes aim at end-of-fund-life issues, cybersecurity Apollo sets aside $45 mln related to accelerated monitoring fees Executives complain privately but work with regulators The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached at least $90 million in settlements with GPs since it started scrutinizing the industry in 2012. That amount is small compared to the trillions in […]

U.S.-based buyout and mezzanine fundraising remained steady but slowed compared with 2015’s pace, with the year-to-date total growing to $53.3 billion from $45.5 billion. That’s $19 billion behind where fundraising for the strategies was at the same time last year. Carlyle Group helped drive fundraising. The firm closed Carlyle Power Partners II with $1.5 billion in commitments, while […]

$186 bln pension commits 35 pct more to PE in 2015 Total commitments approach $4 bln Blackstone, Coller among large commitments California State Teachers’ Retirement System committed more than $3.9 billion to private equity funds and co-investments in 2015, more than 35 percent above the total it allocated to the asset class in 2014. CalStrs’ rapid […]

1 — Tell us about the origins of Frontier Capital and your decision to focus on technology firms outside the major tech centers. When we launched Frontier in 1999, it was right in the middle of the dot-com craze. As a small, first-time fund ($45 million) we saw an opportunity in between venture and more mature […]

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS Adams Street Partners, the Chicago private-markets investment firm managing more than $27 billion of assets, effective June 1 named Brijesh Jeevarathnam a partner, co-head of global venture fund investments, and a member of its Primary Investment Team. Jeevarathnam, 41, who joins Adams Street at its Menlo Park, California, office, previously was managing director and […]