Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Reports U.S. Fund-Raising Up 11% Year to
Date; Growth Credited to Limited Partners' Diversifying with Distressed &
Mezzanine Funds
NEW YORK, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- While the public financial markets are
in crisis, U.S. private equity firms not only continue to stockpile capital
but have picked up the pace of their fund-raising. Dow Jones Private Equity
Analyst, using statistics from the LP Source database
(http://www.privateequity.dowjones.com), reports that U.S. private equity firms
raised $222.6 billion in 264 funds during the first three quarters of 2008,
11% ahead of the $200.4 billion raised by 298 funds in the same time last
year. That is in contrast to the halfway point of this year, when fund-
raising slightly lagged last year's pace, and is despite a slow-down in
buyout fund-raising. The full-year fund-raising record of $313 billion was
set in 2007.
U.S. Private Equity Fundraising, YTD
1Q-3Q, 2008 1Q-3Q, 2007
No. of Funds Amounts (MM) No. of Funds Amounts (MM)
Buyout/Corporate Finance 108 $151,512 134 $155,809
Mezzanine 13 $36,909 9 $3,087
Venture Capital 107 $19,711 103 $19,058
Funds of Funds 24 $10,062 44 $16,832
Secondary & Other 12 $4,443 8 $5,658
TOTAL 264 $222,637 298 $200,444
Source: Dow Jones LP Source
"Limited partners have been saying that they intend to invest in
private equity at a steady pace through the current downturn," said
Jennifer Rossa, managing editor of Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst. "Many
of these investors have learned their lesson after the venture bubble burst
in 2000. Back then, many LPs stopped investing in private equity, only to
miss out on some of the best vintage years the industry has yet produced.
This time around, they continue to invest, but they're being very careful
about which strategies they invest in."
Distressed & Mezzanine Funds Are News Investor Darlings
Distressed firms, which are calculated in the buyout/corporate finance
category, are seeing strong interest from investors with 18 funds raising
$37.9 billion thus far this year, up 28% from $29.5 billion raised by 16
funds at this point last year, according to the Dow Jones Private Equity
Analyst analysis. Distressed firms raised a record $48.2 billion in 2007.
Oaktree Capital Management set a record for largest individual
distressed fund by raising $10.6 billion for OCM Opportunities Fund VII LP
earlier in 2008.
The newsletter also reports that mezzanine funds are having a great
year, gathering $36.9 billion across 13 funds, compared to $3 billion
across nine funds through the third quarter last year. Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. makes up the lion's share of this year's total, having collected $20
billion - $7.5 billion in the form of leverage - for GS Mezzanine Partners
V LP.
"Were it not for the distressed and mezzanine segments, private equity
fund-raising would have been weaker compared to last year," added Ms.
Rossa. "Buyout fund-raising continues to lag and fresh concerns about the
availability of debt won't help."
The corporate finance and industry-focused buyout segments collectively
saw 78 funds raise $103.3 billion, down 12% from the 98 funds that raised
$118 billion during the first three quarters last year. Buyout firm TPG
Capital helped the overall numbers in the third quarter, disclosing that it
had raised an additional $7.8 billion for TPG Partners VI LP, bring its
year-to-date total for the fund to $19.8 billion. The firm also collected
$6 billion for TPG Financial Partners LP.
Meanwhile, venture capital fund-raising is holding relatively steady,
up just 3% to $19.7 billion raised in 103 funds from $19.1 billion raised
by 103 funds at the same time last year.
To learn more about Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst, view a sample
issue or subscribe, visit http://www.privateequity.dowjones.com or call (877)
633-8663.
ABOUT DOW JONES
Dow Jones & Company (http://www.dowjones.com) is a subsidiary of News
Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV; http://www.newscorp.com). Dow
Jones is a leading provider of global business news and information
services. Its Consumer Media Group publishes The Wall Street Journal,
Barron's, MarketWatch and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Its Enterprise
Media Group includes Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Dow Jones Client
Solutions, Dow Jones Indexes and Dow Jones Financial Information Services.
Its Local Media Group operates community-based information franchises. Dow
Jones owns 50% of SmartMoney and 33% of Stoxx Ltd. and provides news
content radio stations in the U.S.
SOURCE Dow Jones & Company
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.dowjones.com
http://www.newscorp.com
CONTACT:
Adam Wade of Dow Jones Financial Information
Services, +1-415-439-6666, adam.wade@dowjones.com
|
