FT series

In a five-part series, the FT looks at how buy-out firms are finding new ways to put their capital to work, one year on from the start of the credit squeeze
Private equity investors have objected to a new rule proposed by regulators that would require them to inject nearly four times the minimum capital normally required into troubled banks in which they invest
Egypt’s banking sector has growth potential
Finding could help battle against planned rules
Response to corruption scandal at US fund
Strict capital rules to acquire US lenders

In a five-part series, the FT looks at how buy-out firms are finding new ways to put their capital to work, one year on from the start of the credit squeeze
When 3i floated its £400m Quoted Private Equity investment company in June 2007, some observers saw it as a poorly timed move
TPG’s profit on its share of Alltel’s debt illustrates a potential conflict of interest when private equity groups purchase debt at discounted prices in buy-out deals
The Emap acquisition by Apax Partners and GMG highlights the difficulties of pursuing a buy-and-build strategy
Western private equity executives monitor the situation in South Ossetia with particular concern after a $2.7bn spending spree in Russia
Buy-out bosses say there are political and financial obstacles to investing in the financial services sector

Logic suggests a lot of companies owned by private equity must be on the point of expiring under the weight of their debt. But the bankruptcy rate, though rising, is still historically low
Chief executive Dominique Mégret argues that, while some PAI companies are being buffeted by the recession, it is protected through dividend refinancing
The ‘go-shop’ clause in the $4.2bn sale of iShares to CVC Capital Partners allowed Barclays to sign a deal with one bidder and then solicit alternative buyers during a 45-day period to determine if iShares could be sold at a higher price
The first big non-financial leveraged buy-out to be struck outside of Japan, post-Lehman, shows the formerly swaggering heroes of private equity in a new light

As firms take writedowns while battling to prop up acquisitions, investors are seeking their money back from the one-time ‘masters of the universe’
The Commission’s financial package looks more like a crowd-pleaser than a serious attempt to grapple with the causes of the global banking crisis or encourage lending after the credit bubble’s collapse