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IPO July IPO Mart Not For Faint Of Heart

August 11, 2008 - A daunting market environment kept IPO issuance at bay last month and delivered a disheartening start to the third quarter. Only 47 IPOs were priced in July raising $748 million, the lowest monthly deal count in five years, according to Dealogic, making a traditionally slow summer month painfully slower.

Mixed Bag For 2Q PIPEs Activity

August 11, 2008 - Public companies closed 348 PIPEs in the second quarter, raising $21.6 billion, a 14% increase in deals but a 50% decline in capital investment over the previous quarter, according to data from PrivateRaise.

IPO Observers See Market Rebound

August 4, 2008 - The market for initial public offerings isn't particularly robust at the moment, but that doesn't mean that attorneys who handle IPOs aren't optimistic about the prospects for the coming year.

Primary Loan Market Still Suffering

July 21, 2008 - Two things happened last week that should have boosted leveraged loan primary issuance-or at the very least been a catalyst for change.

Maxim Group Bolsters PIPE Staff

July 14, 2008 - Maxim Group has hired two professionals, Richard Kreger and Salvatore Renzo, who specialize in structuring private investments in public equity (PIPE) securities.

PIPEs Becoming Fashionable In UK?

July 7, 2008 - Although TPG backed out of a deal to inject £179 million into UK financial institution Bradford & Bingley, additional private investment in public equity (PIPE) issues by European financial services firms are still possible.

Conrad Owen To Head Up Mitsubishi UFJ Private Cap Markets Group

July 7, 2008 - Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA) Inc. said Tuesday that it hired Conrad Owen to run its new Private Capital Markets group, a move that is designed to expand into an area of finance that is expected to see heightened activity amid tightening credit market conditions.

Bondholders Turning To Private Placements

June 30, 2008 - Enough is enough for Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services, at least when it comes to public debt holdings. The Canadian insurance company's experience as a BCE bondholder has convinced its chief executive and president, Yvon Charest, to stick with debt private place-ments instead.

Turkish Banks Play Coy with ABS

June 2, 2008 - With the field of active bond insurers having thinned out and credit spreads still blown out, leading Turkish banks have yet to revive their structured finance programs.

It's ALIVE!! Private Market Springs to Life With $2.87 Billion in March

April 7, 2008 - The U.S. private placement market priced $2.87 billion worth of private paper last month, representing its highest monthly total since November and coming as a welcome change from a painfully slow winter...

February Recap: Private Market Runs Hot n' Cold; Prices $435 Million

March 10, 2008 - Despite a flurry of new issuance late in the month, the U.S. private placement market priced only $435 million in February spread over three traditional private placements....

January Recap: Market Inches Up to $1.2 Billion

February 18, 2008 - The U.S. private placement market priced $1.22 billion in new issuance last month, barely besting December's $1.075 billion, according to Private Placement Letter's data...

2008 Private Placement Conference: Cautious Optimism Reigns, But Short-Term Picture is Cloudy

February 4, 2008 - The tone among attendees at the 2008 Private Placements Industry Forum last week remained 'cautiously upbeat' though panel after panel addressed concerns about a looming U.S. recession and overall uncertainty in the credit markets. In spite of a broad array of challenges, most panelists and attendees felt confident about the long-term prospects for the private market. 'The feeling is that the private market is open for business, and that the stress [in other markets] is creating opportunity,' said Bob Nash, partner with Chapman and Cutler, and co-chairman of the conference. 'But that's where the clarity seems to end,' he said.

Hot Deal For U.S. Cold Storage Wachovia Back in Mix

January 14, 2008 - United States Cold Storage was seeking private funds via Wachovia Securities last week, sources said. The deal represents Wachovia's return to the U.S. private market after most of its private placement team was cut last fall. The deal for USCS consists of $160 million in senior notes and is said to be structured into 10-, and 12-year tranches. USCS is an NAIC-2 type credit.

2008 Outlook Conditions Right For Solid Year, Say Agents, Investors

January 14, 2008 - The table is set, and now the private market is ready for dinner. Sources on both the buyside and the sellside are optimistic that 2008 will turn out to be a good year for issuance in the private market, despite an inauspicious end to 2007. The most common refrain on both sides of the market is that banks are expected to be less aggressive and that the credit crunch overall has created a pent-up demand for financing, some of which will inevitably get pushed into private land. Duncan Scott, a director with SG Americas in New York, said his outlook for the private placement market is bullish overall. 'Certainly the fundamentals are in place,' he said. Medium-sized, medium-grade credits in the U.S. and Europe are finding difficult execution in the public debt markets, and bank capital is going to be less available. Both of those factors could cause companies to turn increasingly to the private market for financing in 2008, he said.