Private Equity Share Discussion Threads

[skyship] 09/2/2012 08:34

Steady on Praipus. Regrettably they only added 60k to their existing holding; then rather late in the day noticed that they had crossed the 14% threshold, so needed to inform the Company. Transaction was actually back on 5th January!

Still, at least they remain buyers, so a positive nevertheless...

[praipus] 08/2/2012 20:07

CG Asset management in for 14%!!!! Thats amazing these guys are super cautious...even more baffling why Laxey and Weiss have been selling

[skyship] 07/2/2012 14:18

Monthly NAV: Small increase in $ terms; small decrease in £ terms.

[skyship] 01/2/2012 08:30

That's on top of the 2.35m they sold back on 6th Dec'11.

Surprised they're not going the other direction!

[praipus] 31/1/2012 20:56

Laxey providing the stock.

[skyship] 30/1/2012 11:35

Yup - RNS states Nick Greenwood bought another 300k, taking him to 1.9m (7.1%). An even more major commitment from a Private Investor...

[skyship] 28/1/2012 10:59

More interesting matched trades totalling 1.2m. Could be a 600k rollover, or a sale/purchase. We may see an RNS on Monday/Tuesday...

[skyship] 09/1/2012 11:42

Monthly NAV shows a small rise, but only due to the rising US$. Still welcome, especially if we receive news of a tender offer soon...

=============================================
PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR PLC

The Company announces that the Net Asset Value as at 31 December 2011,
incorporating the unaudited Revenue Reserves to 30 November 2011 and the
Limited Partnerships portfolio revaluations as detailed below was:

Per Ordinary Share (including current period deficit):

241.67 pence (US 375.58 cents).

The exchange rate at which this was calculated was GBP=US$1.55410
=============================================

[praipus] 03/1/2012 10:38

Perhaps he is picking up the Weiss holding as they exit



See post 3 on the WAM thread for the rest of their holdings.

[skyship] 31/12/2011 16:40

Nick Greenwood buys another 300k, taking him to 5.7%. He paid 153.3p versus his last purchase @ 148.3p. He must be pretty sure that PEQ will soon be honouring their commitment to another tender repayment...

[skyship] 11/12/2011 12:44

C2i – sorry not to have been back to you earlier.

Personally I am fairly early into the PE learning curve, though I do already have holdings in APEF, LMS, PEQ & PIN; and last week sold a small but profitable trade in SEP.

My initial take on the past performance of PE stocks is that the indifferent performance of the past reflects two things:

1. the savage widening of the NAV discount
2. the fact that PE portfolio investments are essentially long-term in nature; and it is only upon realisation that gains are established

If you look at the charts of a few PE stocks and overlay with the FTSE100, you will see that the average of the past is broadly in line; this in spite of the stated objective for out-performance (see below) and the real outcome of out-performance when you look at NAVs rather than SPs.

My take on the sector as a whole is that many companies have maturing portfolios, so realisations will increase and NAVs will continue to grow. So I believe this to be a secure sector which will surmount current Market uncertainties. It is also a sector which benefits from two other share price stimuli:

1. Diversification from UK-centric investments
2. Possible NAV reduction Schemes, including liquidation – see HPEQ & LMS

I have started a Private Equity thread ("PE") and hope that interested and/or more knowledgeable parties will contribute over time.

For the time-being I am grateful to Rambutan for his comments on the APEF thread, where specifically he introduced me to LPEQ.com, the website for the PE Trade Association.

It is there that your research can start, especially read the Edison Investment Research piece commissioned by LPEQ and published in Jun'11 - See the Home Page of the LPEQ website:



==================================
APPENDIX from Edison Report: What is private equity?

PE describes long-term investment usually, but not always, in companies that are privately owned. From our discussions with PE managers, we found most managers aim to produce returns over periods from 5-10 years (or across the cycle) which are likely to be 5-10% greater than those
available from investing in listed equities. To achieve this end PE managers tend to focus their investment on businesses with strong growth potential and/or where greater efficiencies can be achieved through operational improvement. FTSE 100 Companies that were originally PE-backed buyouts include Compass, Capita, Hays, Shire etc.

PE covers a very wide range of situations, from venture capital (financing investment in start-ups and companies at an early stage of development), through growth and replacement capital (minority investment in established, profitable companies), to the outright purchase of large and
mature quoted companies – the 'leveraged buyout'. Some funds of funds will invest across the spectrum depending on investment opportunities. Among tradable listed private equity companies in Europe, over 90% are investing the majority of their assets in management or leveraged buyouts

[contrarian2investor] 10/12/2011 17:57

SKYSHIP, thanks for bringing PEQ to my attention. I have added it to my watchlist. My main concern is that the share price has gone nowhere in 10 years. Inspite of the fact PEQ is meant to be a savvy tech investor with a good eye for trends etc. Can you see activism achieving a 20-30% uplift in PEQ in 2-3 years, when PEQ could not achieve that themselves in the preceding 10 years?

PEQ v Nasdaq over 10 years

[skyship] 08/12/2011 17:34

So, today's RNS (see Header) provides the final piece of the jigsaw from those heavy trades two days ago.

LAXEY have reduced further to 16.6% - they were 29% at one stage.

The stock went to CGAM & Nick Greenwood, who both increased existing holdings.

Seems rather bizarre that Laxey should be selling down their holding at this price!

[skyship] 07/12/2011 17:50

Certainly impressive - and obviously it is Alastair Laing who has proposed this investment:

[praipus] 07/12/2011 17:32

The much respected CG Asset Management increasung its holding to 13.96%

[skyship] 07/12/2011 13:36

Stu - I'm getting 148.6p-155.0p online @ Sippdeal; though offered in only 1000.

If you can get stock @ 154p - looks good to me.

[stulock] 07/12/2011 13:09

The spread for PEQ seems to be 147/ 154 quote from my broker.is this normal or does it vary during the day. thanks

[skyship] 07/12/2011 11:49

A very interesting Holding declared yesterday

Nick J. Greenwood (ie the ex-Warburg professional investor NG, not the Iimia NG!) declared the purchase of 552,997 shares in PEQ @ 148.296p, taking his holding to 1,237,848 shares (4.6%). There were other significant trades taking place yesterday, so more holding disclosures may follow.

IMO this is a man truly worth following; so I've added to my holding today. His c£2m investment certainly displays commitment, confidence even.

In the short term we may be getting another tender offer at NAV – way above the share price @ c.240p – in the long term (3yrs) we will be getting a continuation vote at the AGM in 2014. That event provides a backstop to this US invested Private Equity play.

And then today – the monthly NAV update:

PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR PLC

The Company announces that the Net Asset Value as at 30 November 2011, incorporating the unaudited Revenue Reserves to 31 October 2011 and the Limited Partnerships portfolio revaluations as detailed below was:

Per Ordinary Share (including current period deficit):

239.50 pence (US 376.69 cents).

The exchange rate at which this was calculated was GBP=US$1.57280

[skyship] 06/12/2011 16:18

Extract from the Interims on 29th November:

"The Company will continue its policy of selectively buying back shares and anticipates that it will make a distribution in the near future."

Well, we've seen massive volume today – presumably related to buybacks. Could well be related to an upcoming tender – but I don't quite see how!

Could be Weiss out and another fund in with their holding plus someone else's...

We may see an RNS tomorrow.

[praipus] 29/11/2011 18:24

Weiss reducing Zyngas IPO not impressing them:



WAM thread to see where they put the money.

[praipus] 29/11/2011 16:28

Zyngas IPO Roadshow Begins

[praipus] 25/11/2011 23:03

Kinks ...."Gotta Move"

[praipus] 25/11/2011 22:43

Someone on the Radio today said that one in four people have an iPhone or Blackberry now.

I'm a very recent convert it's my SatNav,Kindle,Dictaphone,Camera,Phone,Games console,NotePad, Internet connection,Share checker, Chess board and Star Gazing device all in one!!!

IMHO beg borrow or steal one for a week and I bet you, you will not want to be without it thereafter.

[hieronymous1] 25/11/2011 22:06

The two people that I know to have iPhones are both owners of small internet businesses. Neither develops apps. I suspect that what succeeds and what fails is down to marketing as much as utility. I classify gadgets and gadget software as fashion. The noise is random. You have to either stay away or back a trend follower who selects a bunch of likely winners - rather like PEQ.

Dedicated Follower Of Fashion


I am still debating whether a normal speech and SMS mobile phone would be useful or not. What do I know?