DealBook: Margin Menace: Carlyle Fund Comes Up Short

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Edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES | Thursday, March 6, 2008 M & A: Pondering Microsoft's Options BANKING: UBS Shares Fall Amid Fire-Sale Fears PRIVATE EQUITY: Should Sovereign Funds Be Taxed? HEDGE FUNDS: Hedge Funds Lock the Gates OFFERINGS: Ambac's Plan Disappoints Market VENTURE CAPITAL: RingCentral Dials Up $12 Million LEGAL: Buffett Beats Gates to Become World's Richest Person TOP STORY Margin Menace: Carlyle Fund Comes Up Short Carlyle Capital, a Dutch-listed affiliate of the powerful buyout firm Carlyle Group, said Thursday that it has not been able to meet some margin calls and has received a notice of default. While the dollar amount of the margin calls was relatively small, the announcement underscored how the recent spasms in the credit markets continue to spread. "There's never just one cockroach," a senior credit strategist told Bloomberg News. "Management is actively working with the company's repo counterparties to develop more stable financing terms,'' John Stomber, who runs Carlyle Capital, said Thursday. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Read More Add a comment ADVERTISEMENT Back to Top MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS With Yahoo delaying its director nominations deadline, what are Microsoft's options? The Deal Professor goes through its possible game plans. Meanwhile, Yahoo chief Jerry Yang on Wednesday e-mailed an update to the Internet company's rank and file. Go to Item from The Deal Professor» Go to Item from DealBook» Many Yahoo shareholders also own Microsoft, but analysts at UBS think this "cross-over" effect would not diminish shareholder support for a higher bid. Go to Item from DealBook» Meanwhile, Microsoft has enlisted Alan D. Schwartz, Bear Stearns' chief executive, as a close adviser to help it clinch the Yahoo deal. Go to Article from TheDeal.com» Read More Add a comment A half-dozen media companies have signaled that they plan to bid for the Weather Channel, which is up for auction, according to The New York Times. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Pilot union leaders at Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines met Wednesday in Washington, a hopeful sign that formal negotiations over integrating seniority lists to facilitate a combination of the two carriers could soon resume, according to The Associated Press. Go to Article from The Associated Press via The Houston Chronicle» Read More Add a comment European regulators plan to approve Google's proposed $3.1 billion takeover of DoubleClick without conditions, rejecting complaints by Microsoft that the deal would hurt competition, according to Blomberg News. Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Read More Add a comment Chinalco's purchase of a stake in mining giant Rio Tinto reinforces Rio's contention that BHP Billiton's hostile takeover bid undervalues the firm, Rio Tinto's chief executive said Wednesday. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services reached a deal to buy Punk, Ziegel & Company for an undisclosed amount, the investment bank said Wednesday. Go to Article from The Associated Press via CNN Money» Read More Add a comment Carrefour unveiled a slight rise in 2007 profits and forecast faster growth in 2008 on Thursday while speculation that a major shareholder may increase its stake lifted shares in the world's No. 2 retailer. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment McGuireWoods, a Virgina-based law firm with 750 lawyers, has joined forces with North Carolina's Helms Mullis Wicker to form a 900-lawyer, 17-city firm. Go to Article from Legal Times via Law.com» Read More Add a comment Swiss mining giant Xstrata increased its stake in Australia's Resource Pacific Holdings to 94 percent and has begun the acquisition process, as is compulsory under Australian law. Go to Article from the Deal.com» Read More Add a comment Back to Top INVESTMENT BANKING Shares in UBS fell on Thursday on speculation that the Swiss bank had sold a huge portfolio of risky mortgages at a deep discount and planned to announce another massive writedown in the first quarter. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Richard S. Fuld, Lehman Brothers' chairman and chief executive, received compensation valued at $22.1 million in 2007, a year in which the company weathered the subprime mortgage collapse better than its rivals. Go to Article from The Associated Press via CNN Money» Read More Add a comment Merrill Lynch said on Wednesday that it would stop making subprime mortgages through its First Franklin Financial unit and would eliminate 650 jobs. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment In its biggest charitable act to date, Goldman Sachs presented a plan Wednesday to spend $100 million to teach business and management skills to 10,000 women across the globe. Go to Article from Reuters via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Back to Top PRIVATE EQUITY Should the tax exemption for sovereign wealth funds be scrapped? That's the latest question being asked by Victor Fleischer, the professor whose previous paper on private equity taxes created a stir. Go to Item from DealBook» Go to Article from the Conglomerate» Read More Add a comment Hundreds of food-service workers rallied outside Goldman Sachs' headquarters on Wednesday, marking a battle between the Unite Here union and Aramark, the food-service company that is partially owned by the investment bank. Go to Item from City Room» Read More Add a comment Roberto Cavalli is ready to sell a stake to a private equity fund in a move to finance its development, and buyout shops like the Blackstone Group and the Carlyle Group are reportedly interested. Go to Article from Reuters» Go to Article from Thomson Financial via CNN Money» Read More Add a comment Back to Top HEDGE FUNDS With more hedge fun portfolios falling victim to the credit crunch, managers by the dozen are freezing investor redemptions. But, asks BusinessWeek, is this just postponing the day of reckoning? Go to Article from BusinessWeek» Read More Add a comment Phil Duff, co-founder of FrontPoint Partners and a former executive at Morgan Stanley and Tiger Management, launched his own hedge-fund firm Wednesday, using a $500 million investment from a private-equity firm. Go to Article from MarketWatch» Go to Article from Financial News» Go to Article from Reuters» Read More Add a comment Delphi said on Wednesday that hedge fund Appaloosa Management, the lead investor behind a planned equity infusion of $2.55 billion in the bankrupt auto parts maker, had agreed to extend a deadline to terminate that deal as Delphi scrambles to complete its exit financing. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Rep. Corrine Brown, a Democrat from Florida, is trying to prevent London-based hedge fund The Children's Investment Fund from pushing proxy fight to make management changes at CSX, the large rail company. But guess where CSX is based. Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment Philip Falcone, one of the hedge fund managers taking on The New York Times Company, just got another big project: He bought the 27-room New York townhouse long known as the Guccione Mansion for a reported $49 million. Go to Item from DealBook» Go to Article from The New York Observer» Go to Article from The New York Post» Read More Add a comment Back to Top I.P.O. / OFFERING A plan by Ambac Financial Group, the troubled bond insurance company, to raise $1.5 billion selling stock and convertible securities to the public in a effort to bolster its balance sheet fell flat on Wednesday, sending the company's stock tumbling 20 percent and disrupting the broader stock market. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment The Rev. Jesse Jackson has urged Visa to give minority-owned investment banks a greater role in the underwriting process, along with a bigger share of the fees, in its giant I.P.O. If not, he told DealBook, he will call for Congressional hearings into the matter. Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment Al Gore's plan to hold a $100 million initial public offering for his cable company Current Media is generating some more heat, this time from a column in BusinessWeek. Go to Article from BusinessWeek» Read More Add a comment Back to Top VENTURE CAPITAL RingCentral, a start-up that allows small businesses to unify and manage their phone, mobile, fax and e-mail communications, said it has raised $12 million more in a second round of financing. Go to Article from The San Jose Mercury News» Read More Add a comment Climos, a start-up that plans to mitigate climate change by stimulating plankton growth, said on Wednesday that it has raised a series A venture capital round of $3.5 million. Go to Article from CNet News.com» Go to Previous Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment Back to Top LEGAL Warren Buffett has beat his longtime bridge buddy Bill Gates to take the title as the richest person in the world with $62 billion to his name, according to Forbes' annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people. Go to Article from Reuters via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Fidelity Investments, the world's largest mutual fund company, on Wednesday agreed to pay $8 million to settle regulatory claims that current and former employees -- among them Peter Lynch, the legendary investor behind its Magellan Fund -- accepted improper gifts in exchange for business. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Ziff Davis Media, publisher of technology and video game magazines, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, citing a decrease in revenue from print advertising and subscriptions as contributing to its decline. Go to Article from The Associated Press via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Bank Julius Baer, the Swiss bank, on Wednesday moved to withdraw a lawsuit that it had filed against a Web site that it claimed had displayed stolen documents revealing confidential information about the accounts of the bank's clients. Go to Item from Bits» Read More Add a comment Trump Entertainment Resorts, the casino company founded by Donald J. Trump, posted on Wednesday its biggest loss since emerging from bankruptcy in 2005. Go to Article from Bloomberg News via The New York Times» Go to Article from The Philadelphia Inquirer» Read More Add a comment Get home delivery of The New York Times for as low as $3.15 a week.

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