The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t slowed interest by private equity firms putting their cash to work in distressed firms. Although deal activity was down from March to April, general partners in private equity firms are still searching for value wherever they can find it. And they have the means to do it. After years of solid fundraising – which ... READ MORE >
Financial Services
Comprising everything from private equity firms to family offices, financiers are active participants in the middle market. They provide the vital capital infusions needed to take growth companies to the next level.
The future of work: Five predictions for private equity firms
As businesses around the world consider how they return to work amid the coronavirus pandemic, private equity professionals are already making plans for widespread changes to their workforce. Like other businesses, private equity firms have limited non-essential travel, closed offices and imposed strict limits on in-person contact. But it has come at a ... READ MORE >
Main Street Lending Program should be attractive to eligible family offices
In the last few weeks, family offices in the United States have gone through a number of transformative changes due to the disruptive nature of COVID-19. These offices are working through issues regarding human capital, liquidity, data, cybersecurity, technology, and other enterprise risks. Depending on the mission and structure of the family office, the ... READ MORE >
As demand for commercial loans rises, so do underwriting standards
The growing uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has created a surge in demand for financing from commercial firms, according to the latest Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Survey and to proprietary research recently released by RSM. The Fed's survey showed that demand for loans from large and medium-size firms, as well as small firms, ... READ MORE >
Global M&A nosedives, and what comes next is still in question
Global mergers and acquisitions plunged in April as companies worked through business challenges resulting from the coronavirus. Through April and the first part of May, the total value of announced deals was $207 billion, according to Bloomberg, beginning what is expected to be a year over year decline of more than 50% for the second quarter. M&A has ... READ MORE >
How business development companies are navigating the economic shock
Business development companies are facing one of their toughest challenges ever since Congress created them in 1980 as a way to encourage investment in small to midsize businesses. Today, as they reel from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, the valuations of their portfolio companies have dropped as the risk of default has grown amid a liquidity ... READ MORE >
As private equity firms prepare to deploy cash, a backlash looms
As many middle market businesses struggle to stay above water, private equity firms are well-positioned to provide a lifeline. They have been preparing for this moment for years, heeding a lesson from the Great Recession that they need capital to deploy when the valuations are low and struggling companies are receptive to investment. Indeed, the ... READ MORE >
As SBA accepts new applications for Paycheck Protection Program, private equity is not eligible
As the Small Business Administration began accepting applications on Monday for loans under the second round of financing for the Paycheck Protection Program, private equity firms and hedge funds will not be eligible. The SBA released additional guidance for the program on April 24, settling the questions of some private equity and hedge fund managers who ... READ MORE >
For private equity firms, valuations become a difficult question
Many RSM clients with portfolio companies have recently completed their year-end audits and are now preparing to do their first-quarter valuations. But while that has been a relatively straightforward proposition in recent years, it is anything but this year. How do private equity firms determine the fair value of their holdings when those values seem to ... READ MORE >
How private equity firms might qualify for SBA financing
In early 2012, The Atlantic published an article, “Private Equity Is a Force for Good” that gave a clear-eyed look at the industry and its impact on the economy.. Eight years later, the private equity industry, with billions in capital ready to put to work, is in a position to help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic by investing in growing ... READ MORE >