James Taylor
Bramdean Asset Management, the fund manager run by City of London “superwoman” Nicola Horlick, has raised £131 million for a London-listed fund-of-funds, which aims to give retail investors access to the superior returns of alternative investments.
Och-Ziff, one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers, will become the latest alternative asset manager to tap the public markets after revealing plans for a possible flotation on the New York Stock exchange.
The central Europe mezzanine specialist has held a first close on its debut fund as it looks to capitalise on the favourable conditions for mezzanine investors. The fund has raised just under half of its €125 million target.
Dice, the online recruitment business owned by General Atlantic and Quadrangle Group, floated at the top of its expected price range and saw its shares climb even higher in early trading.
The three buyout firms behind last week’s merger of UK companies the AA and Saga have moved to address concerns about a lack of transparency by releasing additional financial details of the £6.15 billion deal.
Guy Hands, the outspoken chief executive of Terra Firma, has hit out once again in defence of private equity’s tax treatment, highlighting the taxes paid by his firm and arguing that any changes would only benefit continental Europe.
Joseph Blum, a senior project finance lawyer with substantial experience of advising oil and gas companies, has joined Global Infrastructure Partners as private equity’s interest in the sector shows no sign of drying up.
Guy Hands, chief executive of Terra Firma and one of the UK private equity industry’s most forthright advocates, has defended the current tax treatment of carried interest. He believes it is right to distinguish it from other types of remuneration, since it rewards “long-term capital investment” by buyout executives.
US venture firm Benchmark Capital’s European division is spinning out of its parent. The new firm, which has been operating largely independently for some time, will be called Balderton Capital.
Nicola Horlick’s Bramdean Asset Management has teamed up with AXA’s Isle of Man operation to launch a new fund that will give retail investors easier access to alternative assets and the bumper returns that institutional investors have been enjoying in recent years.