Private equity is good at reconciling apparent contradictions. You can invest in the funds as privately as their name suggests. You can also invest publicly in streams of fees from managing those funds, mainly via the stocks of US-listed buyout groups. Now Bridgepoint Advisers is planning a rare London private equity listing. It plans to … Read more
William Kilmer Contributor William Kilmer is managing partner with C5 Capital, a venture capital fund investing in the secure data ecosystem. He was formerly an operating partner at Mercato Growth Partners and served as CEO and chairman of PublicEngines (acquired by Motorola), and Avinti (merged with M86 Security) and served as chief marketing officer/chief strategy … Read more
Dale Carnegie’s classic How to Win Friends and Influence People is often maligned for encouraging excessive flattery. But Daniel Akst writes that its message of understanding people’s motivations and appealing to their better angels is more compelling today than ever.
One of Britain’s biggest children’s home providers has been put up for sale for about £600m by its private equity owners despite an inquiry into the sector by the competition regulator. Witherslack Group, which employs 1,800 staff running 25 homes and schools for children with special educational needs, is being sold by private equity firm … Read more
Canadian early-stage venture firm Golden Ventures has raised its fourth fund, a $100 million pool of capital that it will use to invest in between 20 to 25 companies, as well as a $20 million “Opportunities Fund” that it will use to make follow-on investments in standout performers among its portfolio. This is also the … Read more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting as a measure of investment integrity is coming of age as regulators, investors, and other stakeholders continue to seek information about corporate behaviors. ESG transparency is becoming mandatory, and that brings more scrutiny and more challenges.
UK venture capital companies are inviting retail investors to help back early-stage entrepreneurs, opening up part of the market that has been hard for private investors to access, but which also carries particular risks. Forward Partners, a venture capital company, will include retail investors in an initial public offering that it plans to launch in … Read more
Frumtak Ventures, one of the few VCs in Iceland, has raised its third fund, Frumtak III. The $57 million (ISK 7b, €48m) fund will focus on post-seed and Series A startups. The firm says its typical ticket size will range from $1-5 million (€850k-4.2m). Frumtak was a somewhat lesser-known European VC until it popped up … Read more
E.M. Delafield’s 1918 novel, The War-Workers, centers on a young woman given executive responsibility during wartime. Daniel Akst writes that it should resonate with contemporary readers because of its portrayal of the damages wrought by a self-serving micro-manager.
Fund managers in the UK are a bit upset. US private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice made a 230p per share offer last week for supermarket chain Wm Morrison. The board rejected the bid on the grounds that it “significantly undervalued” the firm. The market seemed to agree, pushing the share price of Morrisons … Read more