Is the floundering financing environment making PIPEs more attractive? Seems that way. The market for private investments in public equity hit all-time highs in the third quarter; $38.8 billion was raised via 996 transactions. That's about a third higher than the amount raised in the same period in 2006. This coincided with the credit crunch. Investment Dealers' Digest notes Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs' private equity arm inked a $400 million PIPE deal with Harman International after the previously planned $8 billion buyout fell apart. The leveraged loan machinery has definitely broken down, forcing people to cancel deals. So we just might see some more investments along these lines. As the big boys embrace the idea, the negative connotations associated with PIPE deals seems to be fading.  

For more:
- here's the Investment Dealers' Digest article

Read more on: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts l Goldman Sachs