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PE & VC News

A Brief History of Venture Capital

July 29, 2009

Prior to World War II, venture capital was primarily the domain of wealthy investors and families. In 1958, the government passed the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 which allowed the Small Business Administration to license private small business investment companies (SBICs) to spur entrepreneurial activity. Government officials felt there was a gap in capital […]

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A Brief History of Private Equity

July 27, 2009

Private equity investing can be traced back to the industrial revolution when merchant banks in Europe and later, the U.S., financed industrial projects and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. When J. Pierpont Morgan bought Andrew Carnegie’s American Steel Company in 1901, it marked one of the earliest known major corporate buyouts. J.P. Morgan would […]

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What Stock Pickers Can Learn from Private Equity Managers

April 13, 2009

Private equity as an asset class had an outstanding run from 1998 to 2006. More recently, with the bear market and the forced unwinding of highly leveraged positions, many of the big private equity firms such as Blackstone Group and Fortress and others have taken a bit of a hit. But the reports of private […]

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Venture Capital Model is Alive and Well

April 2, 2009

That’s the word from Businessweek in a profile on Allegis Capital, a 12-year-old VC firm that’s put together an impressive track record. In July, 2008, Allegis sold Ribbit, a telecommunications provider it backed, to BT Group for $105 million. The year before, the firm unloaded computer security company IronPort Systems to Cisco Systems for $830 […]

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The Brave New World for Private Equity Investors

March 30, 2009

The global economic crisis has churned up the private equity world, not only for PE firms but also for the primary investors in the asset class. A recent Wall Street Journal article looked at how a ranking of the most influential European private equity investors reveals a seismic shift in power, now that private equity […]

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Tech Startups See Venture Capital Opportunities in China

March 26, 2009

Entrepreneurs who’ve set up shop in China see plenty of potential for growth and say the current economic slowdown has actually helped the situation by reducing costs and weeding out weaker competitors. In a PC World article, William Bao Bean, a partner at venture capital firm Softbank China & India Holdings, sees “a time of […]

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Abu Dhabi Looks to Ramp up Private Equity Activity

March 23, 2009

The Abu Dhabi Investment Company (ADIC), the first investment company in the United Arab Emirates and one of the leading financial services firms in the area, has hired a new head of private equity to lead the charge for buy-outs in the Middle East and North Africa. Because of the credit crunch, the value of […]

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Private Equity Firms May Adapt Better to the Current Environment

March 16, 2009

Private equity may be better able to adapt to today’s tumultuous environment than other asset classes, due to the long-term nature of private equity investments and the influence that private equity managers have over entry and exit decisions. That’s the view of Peter Pfister, recently named managing director of private equity at Deutsche Bank’s Asia-Pacific […]

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The Best Time to Start a Venture Capital Firm

March 12, 2009

Tough times have historically been better for startup companies than most people think says Jim Verdonik in an article in Portland’s BizJournal online. Granted, entrepreneurs tend to see the glass “half full” more often than most people. But there are solid business reasons why new ventures flourish in the worst of times. First, there’s necessity. […]

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Private Equity Positioned to Lead Economic Recovery

March 9, 2009

Private equity is “smart money” that can bring the kind of sustainable and fundamental improvements companies need to pull themselves out of this financial crisis. That’s the opinion of Rami Bazzi, Senior Executive Officer at Injazat Capital Limited, a leading asset management and investment bank in Dubai, UAE. Bazzi told Emirates Business that private equity […]

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