KKR-backed Fleur de Lis Energy LLC is seeking $1 billion to invest in acquisitions in North American unconventional oil and gas assets. Also, Veronis Suhler Stevenson is nearing a deal with Intermediate Capital Group to restructure a $1.3 billion aging fund to buy the firm more time to exit investments. Finally, Blackstone Group’s Stephen Schwarzman took in nearly $800 million in 2015, ahead of some $689 million in 2014. Read More »

Infrastructure investors are hot on the trail of airport assets and are willing to pay a premium, even for secondary and regional airports. Emblematic of this quest is the deal reached by a consortium that included Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Borealis Infrastructure to acquire London City Airport, located just east of the city’s Canary Wharf district and favored by business travelers. Read More »

Private equity firm Corsair Capital is considering restructuring the first fund it raised after spinning out from J.P. Morgan & Co., in a move that could give it more time to exit the last investments in the fund’s portfolio, said people familiar with the matter.

The 2007 fund raised $1.1 billion to buy stakes in banks and other financial services providers. About a decade later, it’s under pressure to deliver returns. Corsair enlisted Credit Suisse Group AG to help it explore a fund restructuring, two of the people said. Read More »

In this morning’s media roundup, Vance Street Capital acquired A&E Medical Corp., a medical device designer and contract manufacturer, in the firm’s first acquisition from its second fund.

Also, Ammunition maker Vista Outdoor Inc. agreed to buy the action sports division of private equity-backed BRG Sports Inc. in a $400 million deal. And Chemicals and building products company Axiall Corp. is selling its window and door profiles business to OpenGate Capital. Read More »

In this morning’s media roundup, Warburg Pincus agreed to a line-of-equity investment of up to $500 million in RimRock Oil & Gas, a startup oil and gas exploration and production company, at a time when the energy industry is struggling with low oil prices.

Also, Common Resources III LLC, an oil and natural gas explorer and producer backed by Pine Brook and EnCap Investments, is winding down operations. And Mainsail Partners closed its fourth fund at $384 million, exceeding a $325 million target. Read More »

When it comes to their limited partners, many private equity firms think bigger is better.

But Chicago-based lower midmarket buyout shop Pfingsten Partners, which soon plans to close its fifth midmarket fund with $382 million, has found a lot to love about smaller investors, particularly wealthy individuals. Read More »

Private equity firms will be able to snap up businesses cheaper in 2016 due to jitters over the health of the global economy, according to Carlyle Group’s co-founder David Rubenstein.

Speaking at the annual SuperReturn conference in Berlin on February 24, Mr. Rubenstein said that as economic growth slows, the business community is becoming more nervous about a possible recession and this will have the knock-on effect of reducing valuations of businesses.

“You are going to see much more money invested [by private equity] because lower multiples will be prevalent,” he said. “There’s a recession every seven years and we haven’t gone more than nine years without a recession. The last recession ended July 2009, so [in] June 2016 some people say something bad is coming along.” Read More »

Private equity fees are ‘ugly’ and have become a way to generate money when they were previously used to cover costs, according to Steve Koltes, co-founder and co-chairman of London-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.

Speaking at the annual SuperReturn conference in Berlin on February 23, Mr. Koltes said that in order to make the relationship between private equity firms and their investors “more entrepreneurial” compensation should to be directly related to fund performance. Read More »

Mike Lucas for Dow Jones

Centerbridge Partners has agreed to acquire Prestone Products Corp., maker of Prestone brand antifreeze and coolant products, from New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart for $230 million. Also, EnCap Flatrock Midstream is committing $300 million to midstream oil and gas company Lucid Energy Group II and Carlyle Group’s David Rubenstein says that global economic jitters promises to bring down asset prices for acquisition targets. Read More »

Chicago-based midmarket buyout firm Waud Capital Partners has closed its fourth fund at just over $1 billion, more than double the size of the firm’s prior offering, as investor appetite for midmarket funds remains robust. Also, Battery Ventures has found a taker for its health-care software provider Brightree LLC in ResMed Inc., which is paying $800 million to acquire the company just as the firm has wrapped up a pair of new funds at $950 million. Finally, private equity leaders at the SuperReturn International conference in Berlin say they are ready to buy again, according to the New York Times DealBook blog. Read More »