TheLeadLeft

Lead Left Interview - David Petrucco, Ed Cerny, and Mark Gudis

This week we chat with David Petrucco, Ed Cerny, and Mark Gudis – founding partners of Backcast Partners Management. Backcast is a recently formed venture that focuses on providing direct debt and equity capital to middle market companies across industries. The Lead Left: Gentlemen, congratulations on your new gig. What’s your thesis for Backcast? David…

The Pulse of Private Equity - 1/9/2017

First-time US PE funds make slight comeback in 2016, but still a low portion of total fundraising

First-time private equity funds in the US amassed just shy of $7.5 billion in 2016, across 26 pools of capital. Although both figures were distinct increases from 2015 - which logged 17 first-time PE funds and $4.6 billion raised - as a proportion of total US PE fundraising, first-time fundraising activity still remains at a considerable low relative to earlier in the past decade...

A Year in Review (Second of a Series)

Along with the sense that mid-cap lenders can now more than hold their own against the largest investment banks in terms of deal size has come a predictable question: With all the lending capacity that’s now available in the middle market, isn’t there too much cash chasing too few deals? A long-time middle market practitioner…

Chart of the Week: Bumping Up

Reported loan activity for sponsor-related syndications rose modestly last year over 2015; private “club” volume expected to be higher.

Private Debt Intelligence - 1/9/2017

Private Debt: 2016 Fundraising Update

In 2016, the private debt industry saw a cool-off in fundraising following the banner year in 2015 when almost $100bn was raised. The year was also characterised by a concentration of capital among the larger, more experienced managers while the fundraising marketplace grew increasingly congested as investor appetite for private debt increases.

Overall, 119 funds closed globally raising a combined $74bn, with Preqin expecting these figures to rise by up to a further 10% as more information becomes available...