Some notes from a few weeks in Mid-Market PE

curiousmonkey — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:28:46 -0400

I just started as first-year (straight from undergrad) at a decently sized Mid-Market PE shop (somewhat well-known) and here are some observations:

-MOIC > IRR, for PE firms. There is a distinction and its important. Heh.

-Management projections exist in la-la land

-No-one can get financing. Anything more than 4.5x-5.5x EBITDA is close to impossible and terms are eye-watering.

-Basically, it's a buy-low-sell-high game. There is some other stuff in between, but it's the oldest game in town and it's not rocket science. Yeah, I am sure most of you already knew this, but it becomes crystal clear when you're actually doing it. Nothing will kill a deal faster than the stock price moving up.

Will Apollo recover from its recent disasters?

curiousmonkey — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:58:40 -0400

Something tells me their last fund is likely to be one of their absolute worst.

Private Equity compensation in Europe and Asia?

curiousmonkey — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:11:48 -0400

I am a bit curious about whether PE firms compensate as generously outside the U.S., especially as opportunities in ex-U.S. markets appear to be both increasing in number and accelerating in long-term strategic importance to PE firms. My own firm is looking to open offices in London and China sometime this year.

How much do pre-MBA PE Associates get paid in Europe? Is there any difference in the components of the all-in comp (that is, more of a phantom equity bent etc.)? Do the Large Caps (KKR, Bain Cap, BX etc. ) pay in-line with their U.S. counterparts or less?

What about Asia? Is it more worthwhile to work for a local firm?

How do U.S. recruiters look at Asia or Europe buyout experience? Better, worse, same as U.S. buyout?

What's a good brokerage/investment/savings account for a new college grad?

curiousmonkey — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:58:25 -0400

Like many of you I've been too poor to invest through my time in college, so I never really paid any attention to these matters.

I am starting my job this summer and was hoping to get in early on the savings/investment game (as many of you have recommended). Here's my current plan/outlook:

Why is The Carlyle Group so different?

curiousmonkey — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:55:34 -0400

It seems to be the most different of the Large funds. It's bigger, diversified into different sectors and geographies, has a HUGE number of analysts and associates with a variety of backgrounds.

Is Carlyle known to be a different experience than TPG, BX, KKR, BainCap etc.?

I love Dealbook

curiousmonkey — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:21:09 -0400

i've been an avid journal reader for some time, but i feel like they've really been slipping the last few years. especially in the last year or so when political news seems to be dominating their pages. honestly, they aren't very good at non-financial/business news. i read the nyt (the standard) and the post for that. but lately, i've gotten hooked to nyt.com's Dealbook blog.

Which firm works its analysts to the bone?

curiousmonkey — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:15:22 -0400

I am very interested in this. When I was doing my internship, the consensus was that KKR was a total sweatshop. Worst lifestyle of any big buyout shop. On these boards, I've heard Audax is up there with the absolute worst in terms of lifestyle. Is there any consensus on the street as to which shops push their analysts hardest?

How much to pay for rent?

curiousmonkey — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:56:25 -0500

i am just starting to look for apartments in the city, and a lot of what i've seen is in the 3-4K per-person range. i think that's excessive and i am looking in the wrong places.

what's the 'sweet-spot' or 'median' rent for a decent place (one-bedroom, or a 3/4 bedroom split amongst people, whatever) in midtown, 40s to 50s?

That $404,000 got me thinking...

curiousmonkey — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:48:35 -0500

...what IS the conceivable highest you could make as 2nd year analyst in any position on the street?

Prepping myself for B-school

curiousmonkey — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:39:28 -0500

I'll be joining a MM PE firm with decent, but not huge name recognition come next summer. I am looking to perfect my B-school application and plan to apply to start in Fall 2011.

Current credentials

Top 10 non-Ivy undergrad
Hard sciences major, will likely graduate with honors - Phi Beta Kappa
3.8
790 on the GMAT
Did a consulting internship at a top firm