An introduction to private equity

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							An introduction to private equity


Milan - November 2007
What is private equity?




         Essentially private equity is an alternative
                 way of owning a company




                                                        2
What is private equity?

Benefits
•   Works closely with management teams to ensure more efficient capital
    structures are in place
•   Away from the dividend requirements and short-termist gaze of the
    public sector, it allows meaningful strategic and operational changes to
    be made that benefit the longer term interests of the company
•   Provides facility to acquire businesses to merge with other portfolio
    companies, benefiting from cost efficiencies
•   Management’s long term interests are more closely aligned with the
    other private equity owners
•   Rewards are directly linked to the value created through
    buying, building and ultimately selling businesses
                                                                               3
What is private equity?

Common Myths and the Reality
(…at least of the type of firms we invest with)


1. Private equity buys companies on the cheap, strips the assets and then
    sells them on for a quick profit
    Creates value for investors by buying at a fair price and building
    businesses, not stripping them down
2. Private equity leverages up companies with unsustainable levels of debt
    Ensures businesses can pay interest payments required based on the
    level of earnings the company produces on a deal by deal basis
3. Private equity operates in a shadowy and secret world
    Maybe true of yesteryear but firms are becoming more open
                                                                             4
What is private equity?
Categories of investment

Private equity broadly refers to equity investment in companies that
are not traded on public stock markets
•   Buy Outs/Buy Ins: either providing the capital to enable current
    operating management to acquire an existing business or enabling an
    external manager to buy into a company
•   Venture Capital: investments made at an early stage in a company’s
    life
•   Development Capital: financing provided for the growth or
    expansion of a company
•   Mezzanine Debt: typically debt capital giving the lender rights to
    convert to an ownership or equity interest if the loan is not
    paid back in time and in full
                                                                          5
Private equity
Outperformed other key asset classes over last five years

300
            LPX50

260         MSCI World

            Lehman Global Aggregate Bond
220
            Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund

180


140


100


 60
 Aug-02 Feb-03   Aug-03   Feb-04    Aug-04 Feb-05         Aug-05 Feb-06           Aug-06   Feb-07   Aug-07
                          30 August 2002 to 31 August 2007. All Figures in USD.
                                       Source: Reuter’s Hindsight
                                                                                                             6
Growth of private equity



•    The asset class has grown rapidly in recent years, with estimated
     global commitments increasing from USD18 billion in 1990 to around
     USD365 billion in 2006


•    Record breaking deals over the last year – HCA, Equity Office, TXU


•    These mega-deals topped previous record of KKR’s USD31.3 billion buy
     out of RJR Nabisco in 1989




Source: Private Equity Intelligence; Financial News – Private Equity News
                                                                            7
What the credit crunch means for private equity



•   Problems arose in higher risk credit markets causing a serious
    mispricing of risk.


•   Risk Repricing
    –     Credit spreads widening
    –     Significant backlog of loans to be cleared
    –     Further corporate activity is halted until backlog is cleared
    –     Fewer buyouts (particularly the larger ones)
    –     Refinancings limited and exits may take longer than recent times



                                                                             8
What the credit crunch means for private equity



•   Private equity firms can no longer rely on just cheap debt
    –     Think innovatively


•   Leverage is still available (selectively!)
    –     Small to mid sized deals can still be done


•   What of deals agreed prior to the “crunch”?
    –     Not so much of an issue for the private equity investors




                                                                     9
Private Equity – post credit crunch

•   2005 and 2006 are considered vintage years for the sector, so has a
    peak in the cycle been reached?


•   Many of the factors behind the sector’s success in the last two years still
    apply:
    –    company balance sheets remain healthy
    –    further global economic growth is forecast
    –    equity valuations still not expensive on a historical earnings
         basis


•   Opportunities can now be found in other parts of the capital structure


                                                                                  10
The extent of leverage

Level of gearing
•   The amount of debt being put into
    buyouts has been increasing


BUT


•   It is not near the highs of the 1980s
      1987 debt to equity ratio – 93:7
      2006 debt to equity ratio – 70:30
•   Interest coverage has improved
•   Interest rates are still historically low

                                                11
Invest with the best – and know the market



•   Avoid private equity firms involved in over aggressive/unrealistic
    leverage and those paying too much for companies


•   Get a greater understanding of the whole market
         • From the lenders point of view – fixed income fund managers
         • From sellers point of view – public equity fund managers


•   A diversified approach is all important




                                                                         12
Core Holding Example – Candover Investments plc

•   Leading European house                     Largest Holdings:
     Strong track record and portfolio
                                               −         Ferretti
                                               −         Gala Group
•   In addition to portfolio of private
    equity, Candover Investments               −         DX SMS
    wholly owns Candover Partners              −         Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad
     Receives fee income on all other funds    −         Hiding Anders
     Candover Partners runs                       23
     A growing fund management business
     in itself                                    22

                                                                                                                       Purchase
                                                  21                                      Purchase                          Purchase



•   Focuses on larger European buyouts            20
                                                       Purchase

                                                  19
•   Has enjoyed successful realisations
    since purchase                                18


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•   A good spread of investments by            4/
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    vintage and sector and successful         0         0         0         0         0         0         0         0         0         0         0

    refinancings prior to credit crunch

                                                                                                                                                              13
Satellite Holding Example – Evolvence India Holdings
•   A fund of Indian private equity         Largest Holdings:
    funds and co-investments
                                            −        GW Capital India Value Fund II
                                            −        Barings (India) Private Equity Fund II
•   Experienced locally based team with
    hands on approach                       −        IL&FS India Leverage Fund
                                            −        IDFC Private Equity (Mauritius) Fund II
•   Focus on mid-sized companies            −        New York Life IM India Fund II

•   Well diversified by vintage and         1.11

    geography                               1.09
                                                                                   Purchase

                                                                   Purchase

                                            1.07

•   Major sectors of investment include:    1.05
     Infrastucture                          1.03
     Engineering & Automotive                  Purchase



     Construction                           1.01


     Technology                             0.99
                                                    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7    7
     Life Sciences                             03
                                                  /0 4 /0 4 /0 5 /0 5 /0 5 /0 6 /0 6 /0 7 /0 7 /0 8 /0 8 /0 9 /0 9 /0 0 /0
                                                      0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0
                                            2 / 05 / 19 / 03 / 17 / 31 / 14 / 28 / 12 / 26 / 09 / 23 / 06 / 20 / 04 /
                                                                                                                       1
                                           2




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How to invest in private equity?



•   Private equity funds are generally difficult to access for the everyday
    investor


•   Like hedge funds, investors face a series of obstacles: lack of access to
    funds, size of entry, ability to diversify and lack of investment expertise


•   Moreover, liquidity is extremely restrictive in this arena with private
    equity funds commonly implementing long lock-ins in excess of 3 – 5
    years



                                                                                  15
Forsyth Partners
Regulatory matters

This presentation is by Crosby Capital Partners Ltd, which is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK, and which
manages a range of offshore funds (“the Funds”). Application for
shares in the Funds can only be made on the basis of the current
Prospectuses. The Funds are unregulated collective investment
schemes in the UK and their promotion by authorised persons in the
UK is restricted by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The
price of shares and the income from them can go down as well as up
and the value of an investment can fluctuate in response to changes in
exchange rates.




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