July / August 2009 Issue

CONTESTANT: Tim Cummins, Managing Director, Valuation & Financial Opinions Group, Stout Risius Ross. Is it safe to assume that remaining issues related to valuation of private equity investments are more straightforward and require less investigation?

How much will registration as an investment advisor cost US private equity firms? Got $280,000 lying around?

Registration as an investment advisor: your clients will demand it; Congress may soon require it. Here's what you should be doing now. By Robert Rabinowitz of Becker & Poliakoff

In the wake of the New York State Common Retirement Fund revelations, should US private equity firms register their in-house IR people as broker-dealers?

Proposed EU regulations may block some funds from doing business in Europe while giving others a leg up on their locally based competitors.

A $30 million AUM threshold proposed by the Obama administration would likely force nearly all private equity firms to register as investment advisers.

Firms looking for outsourced service providers should asses their abilities to address upcoming regulations.

New York’s attorney general and the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association have both released codes of conduct for placement agents. How do the two codes compare?

Private equity firms looking to sell French assets are at greater risk of having to pay damages arising from difficulties after a deal.

A new UK environmental proposal could result in a number of money- and time-consuming headaches for some private equity funds.

After the IRS’s recent ‘clarification’ of an offshore registration requirement, private equity investors are scrambling to file new disclosure forms on time.

Foreign private equity firms will now be able to establish wholly-owned subsidiaries or joint ventures in Shanghai, as part of new rules that were enacted last month.

New FDIC rules for private equity syndicates investing in banks would not only dampen returns, but would also burden the new owners with legal headaches.

Have more than $30 million in assets under management? Get ready to register.

Changes to the US accounting rules for earnouts throw yet another fair value challenge at private equity CFOs

For private equity firms looking to invest in banks, these lessons in attracting portfolio company executives are critical. By Robert Voth of CTPartners

Reading over our recent headlines, I’m struck that we’re somewhat heavy on the “here’s how to manage through this new headache” analysis. Well here’s some altogether positive content: the new Private Equity Manager represents a major upgrade.

As the divergence between bid-ask spreads continues to hamper the secondaries market, a recent PEI conference panel looked at how people are valuing typical venture and buyout funds.

Last year for the first time US private equity and venture capital firms were required to comply with Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (FAS 157). Three CFOs from the venture capital community and two valuation professionals from KPMG LLP (US) recently gathered in San Francisco to discuss lessons learned from their initial run through the process. Jennifer Harris reports on the exchange.

New FASB guidelines will put pressure on US GPs to more quickly determine NAV in order to satisfy their limited partners.

A new tax change in France could change the debt-equity balance in the wake of difficulties caused by large LBOs.

As private equity lobbyists gear up for a fight over new EU regulations, certain proposals will attract intense scrutiny.

The Jewish state currently taxes the profits of foreign investments in private equity funds at a rate of 15 percent and 25 percent for individuals and corporations respectively

Gary Long has departed from the firm after 15 years as Investcorp looks to streamline management and cut costs.

Changes planned to the International Private Equity Valuation Guidelines should help clear up confusion over valuing investments.

How do you structure compensation for an investor relations professional?

The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 has long been a headache for PE firms who need to prep their portfolio companies for initial public offerings. Could a challenge to the constitutionality of its oversight board s eriously threaten that act’s existence?

Private equity will emerge from the current downturn a transformed industry in many respects.