The firm has sold its substantial portfolio of Portuguese wind energy businesses and is currently in negotiations to sell off similar assets in Germany, France and Greece as it seeks to relieve its debt burden.
Its investments in turn-key renewable energy infrastructure projects across the EU will be managed by German renewable energy specialist and asset manager SachsenFonds. Aviva and SachsenFonds previously partnered on a €600m Central European property fund.
The UK-based private equity firm had a total negative return of £182m for the first half of 2008, due in part to £411m in write-downs and an £87m drop in value of its quoted portfolio. Its buyout and infrastructure businesses produced positive returns.
The development-focused fund of funds has received a revised investment remit from its shareholder the UK Government, which will redirect investment from China and Latin America to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Economic turbulence is throwing up opportunities for emerging market-focused private equity funds to make investments at favourable prices, but capital-constrained LPs are urging caution.
Amid $649m in third quarter write-downs for KPE – the largest related to a co-investment in the $45bn TXU buyout – the private equity firm has said the restructuring of the Euronext-listed vehicle will come next year.
The UK and the Netherlands have both reacted to public criticism of the private equity industry by passing new tax legislation
Legislators across Europe are about to declare war on the banking industry, and private equity is in danger of getting caught in the crossfire
In light of Duke Street’s recent run in with the UK Pensions Regulator, buyout firms face the prospect of being forced to make up pension shortfalls, write Richard Garvan and Andrew Patten.
The public pension has committed to Carlyle’s fourth Asian growth fund, Welsh Carson’s 11th buyout fund, First Reserve’s 12th energy fund and Clessidra's second Italy-focused fund. Together these four funds are targeting more than $22bn.
The head of alternative assets for UK pension Universities Superannuation Scheme says portfolio write-downs coupled with the denominator effect have made fundraising tough. Yet many GPs saw this coming, and raised plenty of dry powder ahead of the storm, he says.
The German and US alternative investment manager is joining forces with Cukierman & Co, an Israeli investment banking group, to launch a €200m private equity fund. Cukierman is also pursuing hydroelectric infrastructure projects in Georgia.
The managing director of Sydney's Principle Advisory Services, an Australiasian placement agent and advisor, expects factors including the 'denominator effect' and risk perception to decrease the size of re-ups and lenghthen fundraising times. He also thinks Russia- and Brazil-focused funds are in for a tough time.
Existing LPs have committed $3bn toward the latest buyout fund from the MENASA-focused firm, which has just purchased a controlling stake in the Karachi Electric Supply Company for an estimated price of $400m.
Permira partner Veronica Eng has said ‘any manager worth its salt’ is taking a hard look at its portfolio companies and carefully broaching new investments amid today’s unprecedented financial climate. Phoenix CFO Steve Darrington, meanwhile, expects unsettled investors to flock to smaller managers.