News & Analysis

PEI Awards: Oaktree, Apax retain crowns

The results are in: Oaktree and Apax are among the winners that have once again been honoured by peers in the PEI Awards. Meanwhile, TPG swept the boards in Asia, while Actis, Blackstone, Bridgepoint, Robeco, CalPERS, Temasek and Partners Group were also considered standouts by voters.

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Oaktree Capital Management dominated the distressed debt categories in both North America and Europe in the Private Equity International Awards 2010, securing its place as distressed investor of the year for the second year in a row.

Joining Oaktree at the top of the industry, The Blackstone Group knocked Hellman & Friedman off the podium as large-cap private equity firm of the year in North America, a tight race which saw Silver Lake Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts tie for second.

Click here for full coverage of the 2010 winners as published in our Annual Review issue
Apax Partners, meanwhile, defended its position as large-cap firm of the year in Europe for the second year running and was also awarded exit of the year in North America for its 4.5x exit of Tommy Hilfiger.

And in Asia, TPG took the honours for large-cap firm of the year, having also struck the large exit of the year with its Shenzhen Development Bank stake sale, eventually netting it 16.5x on its original investment. It was also responsible for Asia's large private equity deal of the year, the $2.3 billion buyout of Australia's Healthscope alongside The Carlyle Group.

Click here for the list of all 2010 award winners
Among the other firms honoured by the thousands of industry participants from around the globe who voted in the PEI Awards was Partners Group, which was named direct investor of the year in Europe and secondaries firm of the year in Asia; Bridgepoint, which was named firm of the year in the UK and also awarded exit of the year in Europe for its 8x exit of Pets at Home; and Actis, which was voted firm of the year in both Latin America and Africa.

But these were just a few of the hotly contested categories in PEI’s 10th annual Private Equity International Awards. Click on the link to the right to read our full coverage, detailing which fund managers, investors, advisors and transactions took top honours and why. We also reveal the only award that is determined by our editorial staff: the Private Equity Leader award.

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