Frontline – May 2008

Hamilton Lane contracts Vantage Reporting
Hamilton Lane, a US alternative asset management firm, has contracted Vantage Reporting, a provider of software products, to enhance its global client development. The Vantage Reporting products include Vantage Deal Manager, which is designed to streamline the investment making process, and Vantage Performance, which enables clients to create reports and sophisticated analyses of investment portfolios. Other products include Vantage Contact, which centralizes deal contacts, and Vantage Funds-of-Funds, which is designed specifically for funds-of-funds. Tom Kerr, principal at Hamilton Lane, said in a statement: ?We considered several solutions and found that only Vantage offered the flexibility and easy integration with our existing infrastructure while enhancing our business processing and reporting.? Vantage Reporting offers customizable software solutions to private equity firms, hedge funds and funds-offunds, and has offices in Boston and New York. Founded in 1991, Hamilton Lane has $9 billion under management.

Global Capital Partners contracts Bank of New York
Kuwait-based Global Capital Partners has appointed The Bank of New York to service its global buyout fund, which will target buyout opportunities in the Middle East, North Africa, China, India and Pakistan. Services that the bank offers private equity fund sponsors include fund accounting, investor services, financial reporting, corporate governance and tax-support services. Shailesh Dash, senior vice president and head of fund manager services at Global Investment House, said in a statement: ?We selected The Bank of New York due to their proven track record and experience servicing alternative investment structures, their focus on the region and their strong relationship management approach.?

NPRF contracts JPMorgan
The National Pensions Reserve Fund, Ireland’s state pension reserve fund, has contracted JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services to provide private equity and property fund accounting services. The mandate, awarded by the National Treasury Management Agency, is for NPRF’s fund, which was valued at €18.8 billion at the end of 2006. JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services has $13.9 trillion under management.

Bear Stearns outsources to Mellon Financial
Bear Stearns Asset Management has outsourced the middle and back office of its managed accounts business to Mellon Financial. The services that Mellon will provide include account opening and maintenance, transaction support, custodian reconciliation, and investor reporting services. Stuart Hendry, managing director of investment operations at Bear Stearns, said in a statement: ?What impressed us most was Mellon’s long-term industry commitment as a managed accounts outsourcing provider, and the experience of its industry-focused service team. We needed a partner that brought the same level of quality and expertise to the back office as we bring to the front. Mellon is that partner.? Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Mellon has about $5.5 trillion under management, administration or custody, and $995 billion under management. Bear Stearns manages more than $42 billion in private equity and other assets.

Ashton Penney adds Swedish firm to network
Ashton Penney, a provider of interim management to private equity owned portfolio companies, has added Mason Management to its international network. Other firms in Senior Management International, Ashton Penney’s international network, are ForteCEO in the US, QuinCadres in France, AC Alpha Management in Germany, TMC Advisors in Italy and Hungarian Interim Management in Hungary.

James Wheeler, chief executive officer of Ashton Penney, said in a statement: ?The Nordic countries are an important market for many of our private equity clients, and we are delighted now to be able to offer local and UK interim managers to Nordic private equity firms, as well as to our other European clients with portfolio companies and divisions in those companies.? Founded in 2002 by Jan Andersson, Mason Management is based in Stockholm.

Deloitte India launches private equity business
Deloitte & Touche has created a dedicated private equity business in India. Deloitte Corporate Finance Services India will provide specialist services including financial due diligence, bid support, sale and purchase agreement advice and accounts completion to private equity clients. The team is led by managing director Sandeep Gill and director Bimal Modi, who both previously worked for Deloitte’s corporate finance business in London. Chris Ward, global head of corporate finance advisory at Deloitte, reportedly said: ?Deloitte recognises India as one of the fastest growing economies in the world and as strategic to Deloitte’s growth plans.?

Probitas Partners enlarges New York team
Probitas Partners, a US placement agent and alternative investment advisor, has hired Adam Frieman to work on relationship and liquidity management in New York. Frieman was previously deputy head of US equity capital markets at UBS. He has also worked at Bankers Trust Company, where he co-founded their Strategic Equity Derivatives Group. Michael Hoffman, founding partner of Probitas, said in a statement: ?[Frieman’s] skills, experience and client base are complementary to Probitas’ franchise and we look forward to further expanding and innovating our focus on liquidity and portfolio management with Adam’s expertise in the equity markets.? Probitas has three integrated global practices: placement of alternative investment products, portfolio management and liquidity management. The firm has offices in San Francisco, New York and London.

Alvarez & Marsal recruits O’Leary
Alvarez & Marsal Business Consulting, an affiliate of global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, has hired veteran consultant Joseph O’Leary as managing director and leader of the firm’s regional Midwest practice. O’Leary, who will be based in Chicago, was previously senior vice president at Accretive Health, where he led revenue cycle operations for six hospitals. He has also worked at Andersen Business Consulting and BearingPoint. Tom Elsenbrook, CEO of Alvarez & Marsal, said in a statement: ?[O’Leary] is a longstanding and well-respected member of the consulting community who brings strong leadership skills, as well as a great passion for developing trusted relationships with clients.?

Financial Stocks hires vice president
Financial Stocks, a US financial services company, has recruited Kevin Reevey as vice president of its private equity business. Reevey, who will be based in Cincinnati, previously worked at Ryan Beck, a US investment bank and private wealth management firm, where he was first vice president and senior equity analyst. He has also worked at Merrill Lynch and Advest. Bob King, senior managing director at Financial Stocks, said in a statement: ?[Reevey’s] extensive knowledge of the US banking sector will strengthen our ability to uncover financial institutions that offer the opportunity for outsized returns for our growing investor base.? Founded in 1995, Financial Stocks manages about $6.5 billion and has offices in Cincinnati, New York, Cleveland and San Francisco.

Regent recruits non-executive director
Regent Associates, an advisor to private equity-backed technology companies, has hired Richard Holway as a non-executive director. Peter Rowell, chairman of Regent, said in a statement: ?[Holway] brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Regent. This will be of immense value as we move into the next phase of the company’s development as it builds its capabilities to handle larger acquisition transactions.? In 1986, Holway founded his own company, which was bought by Ovum in 2000. He resigned in 2006 when Datamonitor bought Ovum. Founded in 1987, Regent Associates offers advisory services for acquisitions, divestments, company sales, financing, and valuations.

Macquarie Group buys Giuliani Capital Advisors
Australian financial services firm Macquarie Group has bought New York-based boutique investment bank Giuliani Capital Advisors for an undisclosed amount. Giuliani provides restructuring and mergers and acquisitions advisory services to US private equity-owned companies. Rudolph Guiliani, chairman of Guiliani Partners and former mayor of New York City, said in a statement: ?[Our] strong industry-focused national footprint in the mergers and acquisitions and restructuring advisory businesses complements Macquarie’s existing businesses well.? Guiliani has more than 100 employees in its offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Troy. Headquartered in Sydney, Macquarie Group has $140 billion under management.

State Street study indicates increased investor confidence with hedge funds
State Street Corporation, a Boston-headquartered provider of financial services to private equity firms, has published its third institutional hedge fund study. Participants included corporate pensions, public and government pensions, endowments, and foundations. The research indicated that more than 50 percent of the respondents are more comfortable making hedge fund investments now than a year ago. Gary Enos, executive vice president of State Street’s alternative investment services business, said in a statement: ?The findings of our study reinforce the industry trend we’ve been witnessing among our client base ? investment boards are overwhelmingly accepting that hedge funds are a viable option for their investment allocations. They are also discovering the various ways hedge funds can be incorporated into portfolios based upon investors’ risk appetite, return targets and overall investment objectives.? Only four percent of respondents said they have no hedge fund investments, down from 16 percent a year ago. All of the participants said they invest in private equity.

Bank of Ireland appoints UK head of acquisition finance
The Bank of Ireland has hired Peter Dunsby as UK managing director of global acquisition finance. Dunsby previously worked at CIBC World Markets where he was executive director of its European leveraged finance team. He has also worked at The Royal Bank of Scotland and Deloitte. Dunsby will be based in London and will organize private equity sponsor-backed deals in different European markets. The bank has recently been restructuring its London-based acquisition finance team. David Walsh, head of European acquisition finance, said in a statement : ?[Dunsby] has a decade of experience in arranging transactions on a pan-European basis including a number of highly successfully completed senior and subordinated debt financing in excess of €1 billion ($1.4 billion) as well as mid-market financings.? The bank has recently started to move away from smaller club-type deals to concentrate on bigger deals like Orkla Media (€625 million). Founded in 1996, the Bank of Ireland’s acquisition finance team has offices in Dublin, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Connecticut.

Poor private equity performance due to management issues, says report
Two thirds of senior private equity practitioners believe that poor company performance is either very often or always attributable to management issues, found RHR International and mergermarket in a global report on human capital in private equity. Only 37 percent of survey respondents believe that management changes are implemented quickly and effectively, but factors such as incumbent management and ?egos? were noted as impediments to change. While a vast majority of respondents say they regularly assess the performance and development of management teams, many noted that reviews do not take place at the partner level or above. Slightly more than half the respondents also believe that the management of the private equity firm will become more institutional in culture.