Private Equity Calls in Experts to Fix Firms They Can’t Sell

Buyout heavyweights are increasingly resorting to the old-fashioned way of making money — actually running the companies they’ve bought.

Financial engineering just isn’t working as well as it once did for private equity shops. Some of the biggest, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Blackstone Inc., have added veterans with operations experience from industry giants like Walmart Inc. and Honeywell International Inc. Others like Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. and Partners Group are leaning even more into their roots as operators. READ MORE

Private Equity’s Data Transparency Revolution

Investment firms do not need to publish their performance for the general public and acquisitions can be completed without disclosing financial information about the transaction.

However, as private markets mature and become more widespread, the lack of clear and standardized data is proving to be a barrier to even wider adoption. Investors need better access to information on private fund performance, transactions, fundraising, valuations and benchmarks as more capital flows in. READ MORE

Private equity’s ‘layered leverage’ needs more scrutiny, says PGIM chief

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The chief executive of $1.3tn asset manager PGIM said he was concerned about the “layered leverage” that private equity firms are using to return cash to investors and urged regulators to insist on more transparency about complex forms of debt. David Hunt said that as private equity groups struggle to exit investments, they have been using more complex and opaque forms of borrowing, such as leveraging up funds that own several already-indebted companies to finance payouts for their investors. READ MORE

Newsom vetoes bill to let California ban private equity deals for health care

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have given his state the ability to block private equity acquisitions of most health-care facilities and service providers.

Why it matters: This likely kills the idea on a national level, where it was proposed by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in response to the Steward debacle. READ MORE

Why Public Stock Offerings Make Sense for Some Startups

In today’s evolving landscape of startup funding and the tight capital market, public stock offerings (also known as equity crowdfunding rounds) are becoming an increasingly appealing option for many companies, even those that have reached a more mature stage. While venture capital (VC) remains a significant funding source, it’s not always the best fit for every business — for a variety of reasons.

For some startups, launching a public stock sale can provide a viable alternative to the traditional VC path, especially those with a community-driven customer base. When considering whether to embark on this route, it’s crucial to recognize that this particular flavor of raising capital requires a substantial commitment of time, resources, and energy — a factor that is often misunderstood or underestimated. READ MORE

How Can Firms Set Up A CVC Successfully?

As I discussed in my previous article, corporate venture capital units (CVCs) can be a great opportunity for both established firms and startups. By housing disruptive investments as separate entities, CVCs help insulate these ventures from the pressures of delivering near-term results so firms can stay focused on innovation.

I see the number of CVCs poised to grow, with more firms tapping into innovative technologies and a swathe of talents seeking to launch ventures of their own. So, what does it take to establish a CVC and, more importantly, ensure its success? READ MORE

What counting cards at blackjack can teach you about VC investing

Venture Capital (VC) can be a rewarding place you could invest your money. But nowadays, some are reconsidering whether to invest in VC as an asset class at all. A number of VCs have responded by “reducing risk” and slowing their investments. I’m a VC myself, and I first learned about high-pressure bets while playing blackjack. READ MORE

Longevity Startups Are Getting Funding, But Not As Fast As We’re Aging

We are all getting older. But never before have we been getting this much older.

In the U.S., at least one in six people is now over the age of 65. At the same time, in most developed countries older adults are accounting for an unprecedented share of the population. READ MORE

Private equity-backed SPAC IPOs dwindle

Initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies backed by private equity or venture capital are heading for the slowest year since 2021.

In the year to Sept. 4, only six private equity-backed SPACs — also known as blank-check companies — filed for an IPO globally, compared with 15 in 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. READ MORE

Time is Now for Private Investment Industry to Get Real About AML Risks

The private investment industry has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade. In the U.S. alone, regulatory assets under management have more than doubled since 2013, reaching $128 trillion in 2023. This trend is expected to continue with assets under management projected to reach $145 trillion by 2025. 

This rapid expansion of private equity, real estate, hedge funds and venture capital has put the industry in the spotlight of regulators who are concerned about potential risks for investors and the financial system as a whole, including illicit finance risks. READ MORE

Startup Buying Power — VC-Backed Companies Are Hunting For More Startups

It’s not exactly a shopping spree, but with overall M&A down, more startups are hunting for other VC-backed companies in the U.S.

In fact, startups buying other startups is on pace to make up the largest slice of the M&A pie in years when it comes to overall VC-backed, U.S.-based startup dealmaking. This is a noteworthy development in the current environment where venture capitalists and their limited partners are thirsting for liquidity amid a frozen IPO pipeline and quiet M&A market. READ MORE

Venture capitalists are divided on Harris or Trump

Being a venture capitalist carries a lot of prestige in Silicon Valley. Those who choose which startups to fund see themselves as fostering the next big waves of technology.

So when some of the industry’s biggest names endorsed former President Donald Trump and the onetime VC he picked for a running mate, JD Vance, people took notice. READ MORE

AI Frenzy Leaves VCs Scrambling for Winning Investments

Artificial intelligence (AI) has completely reshaped the once-flourishing venture capital environment. Although AI startups have attracted substantial funding, traditional VC exit routes, particularly through initial public offerings (IPOs), have become increasingly difficult to navigate.

Tech giants are investing billions in AI startups and offering funding, cloud credits, and strategic partnerships. This has made it harder for VCs to compete, as these well-backed firms don’t need to rely on IPOs for growth. Consequently, the AI-driven IPO market may remain muted for the foreseeable future. READ MORE

Can AI help female founders get funded?

Last fall I had the opportunity to pitch a well-connected Silicon Valley angel group and the great fortune of making it through due diligence with them. Then, after many hours spent working on a potential investment, I learned that they would not be investing—even though my company was rated as having potential for “high return and medium risk.” In conversation with the lead investor we were working with, she commented that one of the reasons she was passing is that “it is harder for women to raise a Series A.” Meaning that she’s invested in women founders before and that her investment struggled to get a return—she seemingly calculated the founder’s gender into her investment decision-making process. READ MORE

Secure Venture Capital Funding to Achieve Strategic Growth

Tech CEOs must be relentless in raising sufficient venture capital (VC) to achieve their strategic growth milestones. READ MORE

I’m a VC and these are the 7 things I look for in founders before investing

As a venture investor, I am frequently asked what I look for in a portfolio company. The answer is simple: technology, product-market fit, and core team. But when you dig into it, only one of those really matters—the core team. See, you either have interesting technology, or you don’t. And finding product-market fit is usually a process. So that leaves just the core team, and it is indeed the key success factor for VC funding and beyond. Here are the “green flags” I look for in startup founders. READ MORE

Private Equity Could Forever Change NFL Landscape

Mara, Rooney, and Jones—what do these surnames have in common? A significant part of their “family business” has involved owning an NFL franchise for decades, with some even approaching a century of ownership. 

For many sports franchises, ownership is passed down through kin. However, NFL liquidity has attracted various investor groups to become more interested and involved in team ownership over time. READ MORE

BlackRock expands its private equity reach

BlackRock and Partners Group on Thursday announced a partnership to offer wealthy individuals a simpler way to access private markets.

Why it matters: The world's largest asset manager keeps pushing deeper into private equity, following its recent acquisitions of both Global Infrastructure Partners and Preqin.

Zoom in: For BlackRock, it's about higher fees. For private equity, it's about new money.

Details: BlackRock and Partners have developed a "model portfolio" that provides diversified private markets exposure via a single investment. READ MORE

Here's Exactly What You Should Include in Your VC Pitch Deck, According to Data

It's a rough time for startups to secure funding. Higher interest rates have made angel investors and venture capitalists a lot more selective about who they choose to back. But a new report from Dropbox/DocSend that examines the pitch decks of 210 pre-seed startups in 2023 and the first half of 2024 could offer some clues on how best to loosen investors' purse strings. READ MORE

VCs Pour More Money Into Self-Pay Healthcare — Consumers Aren’t Celebrating

American consumers are used to products and services getting better. From coffee to car mileage to smartphones, it’s common for the things we consume to get more appealing, efficient and easy to use over time.

One area where this has not occurred, however, is health coverage. Every year, we pay more for health insurance, receive more bills we don’t understand, and shoulder a higher burden of out-of-pocket expenses. READ MORE