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Faced with low interest rates and relatively high valuations for risk assets, large global institutional investors are looking to protect themselves against downturn risks through maintaining their cash levels and selectively increasing allocations to active strategies.
That’s according to a new survey by BlackRock which finds that while 65 per cent of clients plan to leave cash allocations unchanged for the year ahead, there is an interest in active management among institutional investors, which should play out across a diverse set of alternative asset classes, including illiquid assets and hedge funds, and also within public equities.
The survey of
Q&A with Brett Hickey (pictured), Founder and CEO, Star Mountain Capital – Star Mountain is a specialised asset manager focused on investing in the largest segment of established businesses in the US economy – private businesses that generally have between USD10 million and USD150 million in annual revenues or USD3 million to USD15 million of EBITDA (often referred to lower middle-market companies, though based on how certain managers characterise the space, one might say we invest in the “lower end” of the “lower middle-market”).
What is the investment philosophy at Star Mountain?
There are many ways we think about our philosophy.
With US private equity managers contending with record high valuations in US markets, seeking out attractive yield opportunities has become a considerable challenge.
Granted, last year saw a number of significant fund launches. The most notable were Apollo Global Management’s USD24.7 billion Apollo Investment Fund IX – the largest PE fund in history – and CVC Capital Partners’ seventh fund vintage (CVC Capital Partners VII), which closed with USD16 billion. But these are outliers. And whilst the majority of mid-sized PE managers were able to raise capital, putting it to work has been the bigger challenge.
This has pushed US
Dutch investment firm Egeria is to acquire a majority interest in the textile wholesale company Nooteboom Textiles. The Nooteboom family will remain a significant shareholder in the company.
Financial details of the transaction, which is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks, have not been disclosed.
Founded in 1852, Nooteboom Textiles is a specialised wholesaler of women’s and children’s clothing fabrics and is the market leader in Europe.
Sander Nooteboom, head of the family business since 1994, says: “We have grown rapidly in recent years, both within the Netherlands and internationally. Thanks to Egeria’s participation, we can
Independent Growth Finance (IGF) has delivered a GBP250k factoring facility to Gabriels Care & Nursing Agency, a provider of care for the elderly, people with learning and physical disabilities, patients with dementia and those in need of palliative care.
In September 2016, Gabriels Care & Nursing Agency was appointed as a first-tier NHS care provider, which allowed the business to win new contracts and expand into providing residential care. As a result, cashflow at Gabriels Care & Nursing Agency was affected due to higher associated wage bills and increased agency hours. The business therefore sought a flexible financier to support
Blue Point Capital Partners has sold its interest in LineStar Services, to LineStar Integrity Services, a portfolio company of energy focused private equity firm, First Reserve.
LineStar was a portfolio company in Blue Point II, which is the Firm’s 2006 vintage middle-market buyout fund with commitments of USD400 million. Sale terms have not been disclosed.
LineStar, headquartered in Houston, Texas, provides a full suite of integrity, maintenance and construction services to owners and operators of oil and gas midstream infrastructure through its operating subsidiaries Tucker Construction and Tucker Midstream. The Company operates out of eight locations in Oklahoma and Texas, providing
Clearwater International UK experienced an exceptionally strong finish to 2017 having completed nine deals during the Christmas period with an aggregated deal value of GBP450 million.
The most active sectors were Industrials, and Consumer. The Industrials team successfully delivered over GBP60 million of finance for construction services and aggregates provider GRS Group, to support continued growth and its acquisition of S.Walsh Holdings Limited, which offers services to construction and civil engineering contractors. Other key Industrials transactions included advising on the sale of market leading tile specialist Domus, to Europe’s largest floor coverings distributor Headlam plc; also on the sale of
Energizer Holdings is to acquire Spectrum Brands’ (SPB) Global Battery and Portable Lighting Business (Spectrum Batteries) for USD2.0 billion in cash.
Anchored by the Varta and Rayovac brands, the portfolio has a longstanding history, global footprint and diversified range of products including alkaline, carbon zinc, hearing aid and nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries as well as battery chargers and portable lighting products.
The combination will expand Energizer’s presence in a number of international markets, broaden Energizer’s product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities, and increase capacity for research and development. This will enable consumers to benefit from accelerated innovation and a
King & Spalding has appointed Bradley T Giordano as a partner in the Chicago office.
Giordano will bolster the firm’s Financial Restructuring practice and will serve a key role in expanding the firm’s recently opened Chicago office.
Giordano represents debtors, creditors, equity sponsors and strategic investors in all aspects of in-court and out-of-court restructurings. In addition to company-side representations, he advises credit and private equity fund clients on strategic acquisitions or dispositions of distressed assets. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis, where he was a partner.
“Brad is known to be a savvy problem-solver in the restructuring world,
Customer generation business MVF has acquired US technology news brand Tech.co.
Founded in the US in 2006, Tech.co has transformed from a community-building ‘Tech Cocktail’ event to an influential media brand with millions of readers around the world. MVF presently operates a suite of global publishing sites, using expert articles and informative reviews to connect active customers with businesses all over the world. The purchase follows MVF’s acquisition of UK business site startups.co.uk in February 2017, and is part of the company’s ambitious growth plans as it aims to expand its global reach by acquiring high authority digital brands.
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