TPG to return $20M in fees

TPG has told investors that it plans to return $20 million in fees paid on its $19 billion buyout fund, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The firm told its limited partners about its plans, reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal, at its annual conference this week, the source said.

“We took this proactive step in order to share the economic cost of a deal market that has been slower than anyone anticipated,” James Coulter, co-founder of TPG, told the Wall Street Journal.

TPG could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

Investors originally committed about $20 billion to the firm’s sxith buyout fund, called TPG VI, but the firm later allowed them to reduce their commitments, which brought the size down to about $19 billion.

Indeed, private equity firms have had a tough time finding new investments since the credit crisis shut off the availability of easy financing.

They have also struggled to keep investments healthy as the economy suffered. Fund-raising for new funds has also become very difficult, as investors have been hard hit by the slump in global equity markets. —Megan Davies, Reuters