Though the lending markets may be closed, buyers can still get transactions, valued at more than $5 billion, done, according to Michael MacDougall, a TPG partner. Buyers, such as private equity firms, can now "step over" the intermediaries and go directly to the source, such as pension funds or insurance firms, to place debt. "This is not to say we're doing the jobs of the bankers," said MacDougall, who was speaking at the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Outlook conference. "If an investment bank doesn't want to make commitment today ... in a $5 billion-plus-range dea,l we can do the transaction. You just need the conviction, you just need to line up the capital."
Separately, Silver Lake, the technology-focused private equity firm, won't be taking part in any huge buyouts soon. Large deals, those in the $20 billion to $30 billion range, were once the norm in the deal landscape. "If they came along now, we won't bother," said John Joyce, a Silver Lake managing director, who also spoke at the Dow Jones conference. -
Luisa Beltran
