Has PSDG been purchased?
posted on
Apr 06, 2011 05:32PM
Well at least their agreement with SRA has been purchased. And look who did the purchasing! PEP ( Providence Equity Partners) which includes funding from........
By Sabrina Willmer
Of DOW JONES PRIVATE EQUITY ANALYST
Providence Equity Partners LLC is officially marketing its seventh fund, although it has yet to set a target, according to investors.
The private-equity firm sent an email to limited partners the week of Jan. 3 announcing that the private placement memorandum for Providence Equity Partners VII LP was available in its online database. Two limited partners familiar with Fund VII said that the PPM didn't indicate a target.
One investor said based on conversations and other marketing materials, he expects the vehicle to target about $8 billion. Another limited partner estimated the fund could range between $8 billion and $12 billion in size. Terms for the vehicle are still under negotiation.
Julie Fisher, head of investor relations for the firm, couldn't be reached for comment.
Providence Equity began premarketing Fund VII in the summer with an aim to raise billions of dollars in the "high single digits," LBO Wire previously reported. The firm's predecessor fund, Providence Equity Partners VI LP, closed above its $10 billion target at $12.1 billion in 2007.
Fund VI was generating a .98-times multiple and a negative .8% internal rate of return, according to Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund performance data as of Sept. 30.
As general partners vie for a limited pool of capital from investors, demonstrating realizations has become increasingly important for general partners. Providence Equity managed to generate more $2 billion in proceeds from its funds in 2010, according to a person familiar with a preliminary letter sent to investors a few weeks ago regarding Fund VII. This was due in large part to the initial public offerings of two portfolio companies, Danish telecommunications operator TDC AS (TDC.KO) and German cable operator Kabel Deutschland Holding AG (KD8.XE), this person said. Providence Equity also received some distributions through dividend recapitalizations last year, including a payout from Ascend Learning LLC, a health-care education company. The amount of the dividend was $108 million, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.
Past investors with Providence Equity include Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board and the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio.
Providence Equity targets companies in the media, entertainment, communications and information industries. The Providence, R.I., firm participates in various transactions including large buyouts and take-privates, growth capital and recapitalizations of family-owned businesses.
Providence Equity also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong and New Delhi.
(Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst covers fund-raising and other news of interest to the private-equity community.)
-By Sabrina Willmer, Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst; sabrina.willmer@dowjones.com