Toby Mitchenall
Toby Mitchenall is the Senior Editor for private equity at PEI Media. He is responsible for and regular contributor to the private equity coverage across Private Equity International, Secondaries Investor and private funds management and is based in PEI’s London office. Toby was previously a consultant advising private equity firms on marketing and public relations.
The roofing business – now owned by Apollo, TowerBrook and York Capital – has rid itself of more than €1bn in debt.
In a ‘sign of the times’ PEI’s second annual Private Equity Leader award has gone to Jeremy Coller, whose firm manages one of the largest pools of capital in the secondaries market.
The European buyout house is the latest financial sponsor to enter negotiations with lenders. Elsewhere, lenders to roofing company Monier are trying to seize control of the business from private equity firm PAI.
The London-listed private equity investor has filled its top management positions from within as it separates the management teams of its two business divisions.
The listed firm will raise around £700m via a discounted rights issue. The proceeds will let the group pace its disposal of its existing portfolio investments and pay down debt.
The Euronext-listed vehicle funded $77m-worth of debt purchases last year and saw a growing number of annex funds being raised. The firm also saw its NAV drop by 28% and said earlier this week it will cease making new commitments.
A proposed European directive differentiates between private equity and hedge funds, but has sparked concern among the European mid-market that managers and portfolio companies will be burdened with ‘costly and unwarranted’ reporting standards.
British Chancellor Alistair Darling announced plans for a £750m Strategic Investment Fund in today’s budget, which the UK’s private equity and venture capital trade body says is 'reminiscent of the 1970s'.
The London-listed fund of funds has decided it will continue life as a listed investment trust, but will not be making any meaningful new fund commitments for up to two years.
The troubled buyout firm has created the position of general counsel. Philip Price, who fills the role, was formerly the head of operations for SRM Global, a hedge fund group that sued the UK government over the Northern Rock crisis.