giant

KKR delays public listing

Jim Kim — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:50:51 -0500

Many of you likely thought it was ambitious of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to plow forward to a public listing. The environment is hardly welcoming right now. So it's not really a surprise that the private equity giant has postponed plans for its going-public transaction to 2009, according to media reports. Previously, the deal was planned for sometime in 2008. KKR made headlines when it announced it will list on the NYSE Euronext via a takeover of its Amsterdam-listed investment fund, KKR Private Equity Investors, which continues to flag. The transaction would have killed two birds with one stone, listing KKR and shoring up KKR Private Equity. But the financial markets will not allow for it just yet. It's unclear if KKR Private Equity Investors will need some sort of capital injection. Recall that Carlyle Capital Corp., an affiliate of Carlyle Group, was also listed in Amsterdam; it went bankrupt in March.

For more:
- here's the CNNMoney article

Should Bank of America walk away from Countrywide?

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

MarketWatch notes that Countrywide is a bad position. Basically, its debts exceed its assets. Negative equity, of course, doesn't exactly speak well for the mortgage giant's future. Of immediate concern is the deal that Bank of America has struck. As Countrywide's loan problems mount and its stock tumbles, many analysts say the deal will have to be renegotiated. Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Paul Miller holds that Bank of America should walk away. At a minimum, it may have to make some huge changes, like lower the price and perhaps require Countrywide bondholders to swallow more of the expected losses from loan write downs. This is getting tricky for Ken Lewis, who seemed to have bet the farm on the deal. It may be better for him to take his lumps now by giving up.

For more:
- here's the MarketWatch article

Quattrone lands a big client

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Frank Quattrone, who outlasted prosecutors and lived for a second act in the financial services industry, has landed a big-name client: Google. The New York Times reports that Quattrone is aiding Eric Schmidt, CEO of the search giant, as it formulates a strategy amid the Microsoft-Yahoo derby. Quattrone's new Qatalyst Group looks to be an instant power in the industry, and business will not be hard to find. Schmidt and Quattrone have a long history together. It increasingly appears that Google will be drawn into the battle, which is a gravy train for top bankers.

For more:
- here's the New York Times article

SPOTLIGHT: 2008 CEO Watch

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:52 -0400

So far in 2008, we've already seen a continued rise against the odds at Goldman Sachs, as well as an epic fall from grace in the form of former Wall Street giant Bear Stearns. Regardless of what's already transpired though, these eight CEOs are likely to make headlines from now until the end of the year, and perhaps well beyond. View slideshow

Environmentalists vs. Blackstone Group

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

Remember the many steps Kohlberg Kravis Roberts took to appease environmentalists that had issues with its plans for TXU? (See next item). Well, a similar fight may be in the offing farther west, according to Fortune. This one pits the Blackstone Group against people who do not want the Sithe Global Power, owned by the private equity giant, to build some coal plants in New Mexico and Nevada. There are many supporters of the plans, but perhaps just as many detractors, including the governor of New Mexico, who will likely be more vocal. So this is a test of sorts for the Blackstone Group. Perhaps they will take a page from the KKR book and try to proactively work something out. Stay tuned.

For more:
- here's the Fortune article

Buyside moving to tap more trading venues

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:59:54 -0500

We're witnessing an explosion in trading options these days that has led to growing concerns on the buyside about fragmentation and the thought that perhaps good trading opportunities are being missed. Fidelity Capital Market Services, the trading arm of the fund giant, has moved to provide broader liquidity sources to clients. According to Financial News Online, it has added 13 new partners to its platform. Clients now can access 17 third-party venues plus the firm's brokerage clients. So this is one way to effect a kind of consolidation. In effect, the firm has become a service aggregator. My suspicion is that the real value will be in the interface software that Fidelity can offer its clients. Lots of room for competition. A killer app could be born.

For more:
- here's the article

Read more on: Fidelity

Ken Lewis: Right on about mortgages

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Not too long ago, there were a lot of rumors and press reports that Bank of America was interested in Countrywide. The AP quotes CEO Ken Lewis at the time: "We like the product, but we don't like the business." Now, after Bank of America made a $2 billion investment in the ailing mortgage giant, there are talks again that Bank of America will someday takeover the whole company. The agreement gives the bank an option to expand its stake and match any takeover offer. It may be that the business model looks better after the shakeout of the subprime sector and at a much lower valuation. Like others, Bank of America senses a historic opportunity. Its drive to expand its mortgage business may be boosted.

For more:
- here's an article from AP

Vanguard seeks just one beneficiary; a mistake?

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:59:55 -0400

Vanguard doesn't often get bad press. In fact, I would call it something of a perennial media darling. Personal finance reporters really like its low-cost, customer friendly approach. Which is why I was struck by this Forbes article about Vanguard's move to limit its IRA customers to a single beneficiary. In July, Vanguard sent 170,000 customers a letter telling them that by mid-September all of their IRAs must list the same beneficiary. It seems the firm will automatically apply the person listed on the most recent form as the beneficiary if it is not given a name. The move will likely afford the fund giant some administrative streamlining, but it will not go over well with customers. Some will likely end up with a different beneficiary on some accounts and not even realize it! Most top funds allow different beneficiaries, which strikes me as a good thing. We'll see if a big stink issues forth.

Icahn, hedge funds interested in Samsung?

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Now this would be something: News reports have suggested that Carl Icahn may be interested in mounting a takeover bid for Samsung, the Korean electronics giant. Samsung is taking all the talk seriously. Apparently, it is getting its defensive measures in place to defend again any hostile bid. Other foreign buyout funds may also be interested. I have to say I am highly skeptical. True, foreign investors own nearly 50 percent of the shares, according to the AP. But U.S. hedge funds have not fared well in the country. In fact, the government seems down right hostile toward hedge funds that swashbuckle their way in. You can bet the government will come to the company's aid, in a huge way. But perhaps the hedge funds know something I don't. Frankly, if someone were to try something so audacious it would be a lot fun to observe.

For more:
- here's an AP update

VC-backed IPOs wane a bit

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:01:34 -0400

We've noted that the initial public offering market has been much stronger than people anticipated. Most people assumed, wrongly, that Sarbanes-Oxley would continue to depress offerings. One especially bright spot recently was the uptick in venture-backed offerings. But that has fallen off a bit. June was a slow month, somewhat surprisingly given the previously torrid pace. The reason seems to be the giant Blackstone offering. It may be that a lot of institutional buyers wanted to pause and see how the market digested that issue. Not very well, it is turning out. There could be some frothiness to work through. In the last week of June, there was a spate of withdrawn offerings--the highest number since 2004--that claimed the likes of Everquest Financial. I'd like to see a comparison with private equity backed IPOs, which seem to be faring not quite as well.

For more:
- here's an article from Financial News