Privcap Audio: Private Capital Talk

This is an audio version of video, to view the video go to Privcap.com. Michael Cerminaro of Sound Harbor Partners says the changing dynamics of credit strategies are here to stay. In this comprehensive interview Cerminaro discusses debt volumes, the hunt for yield, and why PE has become the new home for credit investing.

Martin Okner, president of ACG New York, discusses the middle-market group’s member benefits and its expansion plans

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Kirk Griswold, Founding Partner of Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Argosy Capital, describes the state of the deal market in 2012 and looks ahead to today’s pricing dynamics. He offers his views on the booming energy sector in the US, describes what he likes about the lower end of the middle market, and discusses his firm’s real estate investment business.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Entrepreneurs and growth-stage companies are critical to economic growth, and Ernst Young is committed to supporting the ecosystem surrounding entrepreneurs, according to Herb Engert, Americas Strategic Growth Markets Leader at Ernst Young. Engert discusses the centrality of Ernst Young’s Strategic Growth Forums to its engagement with entrepreneur clients and private capital firms. He also describes the opportunity he sees in Latin America to help often family-backed business get to the next level in partnership with private capital firms.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: The “shrinking” of traditional banks as middle-market lenders is opening up opportunities for fleet-footed alternative financial companies, such as THL Credit, led by CEO CIO Jim Hunt. Affiliated with buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, THL Credit was created in anticipation of a credit crisis, a view that proved “too prophetic,” says Hunt. Topics covered also include the “blank sheet of paper” that THL Credit likes to start with when structuring financings for unsponsored transactions, advice on what borrowers should look for in a lender, the importance of relationships, and what Hunt likes about the healthcare sector.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Marc Utay, Managing Partner of Clarion Capital Partners, shares what he’s learned over 30 years in the industry. The former Drexel Burnham Lambert professional tells why he likes the smaller end of the middle market, how efficiencies can be found there and unlocked in partnership with entrepreneurs, why Clarion likes companies with “high intangible value,” and how the firm approaches distressed opportunities.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Investment firm Siguler Guff is bullish on the long-term Brazilian private equity opportunity, as co-founder Drew Guff details in this in-depth interview. Guff, a veteran of the emerging markets private equity scene, compares his pioneering experience in the Russian market with trends he sees in Brazil today. He also tells why there is not too much money chasing too few deals in Brazil, argues for the attractiveness of markets outside of Brazil’s biggest cities, and discusses the importance of peer references in emerging markets investing. This is the first of a two-part interview with Guff.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: How did TPG portfolio company Harrah’s Entertainment save $19 million per year on energy efficiencies? How did Carlyle portfolio company NBTY save $2 million per year on more efficient vitamin-production techniques? In the second of a two-part series, Edward Norton, Senior Advisor to TPG, Beth Lowery, Senior Advisor to TPG, and Bryan Corbett, Principal in the Executive Group of The Carlyle Group, share success stories where ESG principals of environmental, social and governance responsibility are deployed in portfolio companies. Also discussed: How to share “wins” across portfolio companies, a new, free resource provided to private equity firms by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), reporting, why even small private equity firms can realize savings via ESG programs, and what Norton learned during a visit to a Las Vegas casino.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Why are the CIOs of institutional investors around the world “aggressively” expanding private-market allocations, including private equity? Russell Steenberg, Managing Director and Global Head of BlackRock Private Equity Partners, gives an authoritative overview of how actuarial assumptions, when set against the actual expected performance of fixed-income and public equity asset classes, are forcing investors to seek greater exposure to private equity. Steenberg also discusses the importance of choosing the right partners and controlling for the risks of illiquidity inherent to private markets. This is the second of a two-part interview with Steenberg.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Interview with Sachin Date, Private Equity Leader for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa, Ernst Young

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Adiba Ighodaro, Director of Investor Development at global private equity firm Actis, gives an overview of changing LP attitudes toward the emerging markets, Actis’ focus. She discusses the shifting focus among LPs from perceived political risk to more practical risks like company management. Ighodaro also describes the knowledge her firm can bring to portfolio companies in one region that was learned in another.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Tokunboh Ishmael of Lagos, Nigeria-based Alitheia Capital, as well as a board member of the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) explains why Africa is the next frontier of growth, and how the AVCA will be supportive of investors targeting the region.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: More and more private companies in Africa are becoming “investable” just as more and more institutional capital is forming to target private equity across the continent, according to Runa Alam, Co-Founding Partner and CEO of Development Partners International as well as chairperson of the board of the African Venture Capital Association. Alam also describes an increasingly sophisticated population of African pension funds and other local institutional investors that are ready to commit capital to the asset class. Finally, she describes her goals for AVCA and why even single-person entities should join.

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: Tokunboh Ishmael, having come from a background as an investment banker and private equity investor, is now interested in bringing “impact capital” investing to Nigeria. As a co-founder ofAlitheia Capital, she looks for opportunities to back businesses that will not only make a profit but positively impact the lives the a huge population of Nigerians, who have a huge latent demand for basic goods and services taken for granted in developed countries. In an interview with Privcap, Ishmael gives an overview of the Nigerian private equity landscape, defines the impact-capital strategy, and talks about the opportunity to build businesses targeting the “base of the pyramid” in Nigeria. Ishmael also describes her experiences as a judge on the popular Nigerian TV show “Dragon’s Den Nigeria,” which has made her among the most recognized business figures in the country. (Ishmael is also on the board of the African Venture Capital Association and describes its goals in this segment.) Registered users of Privcap may access this 12-minute, chaptered video program, full transcript, audio-only version, as well as Privcap’s entire archive of thought-leadership content. Register here – it’s free and quick

THIS IS AN AUDIO-ONLY VERSION OF A VIDEO INTERVIEW FOUND ON PRIVCAP.COM. VIEW THE FULL VIDEO HERE: From his headquarters in Montreal, David Creighton oversees an investment business that has placed equity and debt in private companies across 55 different emerging markets. The President CEO of Cordiant Capital returns to Privcap to share his views on: Why domestic consumption is the most attractive trend to invest behind, why Russia and second-tier Russian cities remain very attractive, and why frontier markets, as well as the frontier zones within the BRICs, will be the big themes of 2013 in emerging markets private equity.