The Big Mouth Blog

Private equity fundraising falters in Q3

Private equity fundraising lost some of its sparkle in the third quarter, according to Buyouts editor Greg Roth. U.S. pension funds, endowments and other limited partners all have began to pull back in the wake of renewed market upheaval and the possibility of a double-dip recession. What this means, according to private equity executives and [...]

Private equity fundraising reaches post-crisis high

Second quarter private equity fundraising in the United States had its strongest period since the third quarter of 2008. Totals so far this year have been so strong that if year-to-date figures were to continue into the second half, they would lift the industry to its first $100 billion-plus year since the golden era between [...]

Brentwood Associates partner talks of their busiest month, according to Private Equity International

Bill Barnum, a partner of Brentwood Associates, talks of the firm selling three portfolio companies in the month of June, according to an article in Private Equity International.  Even in this tough economy, Brentwood Associates has maintained a high performance over recent months and expects to have made at least two new investments before the [...]

‘Significant customer loyalty’ key for Brentwood’s Barnum

Brentwood Associates partner Bill Barnum discussed his firm’s unique investment strategy and how it has paid off for investors in a recent interview with Pensions & Investments. Barnum explained the firm raises a new fund about every six years, compared to every three to four years for other private equity firms. And, rather than expanding [...]

Brentwood Associates poised to raise capital for Fund V at year-end

Private Equity International reporter Graham Winfrey interviewed Brentwood Associates partner Bill Barnum at last week’s Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst conference to discuss the firm’s plans to begin raising its next vehicle late this year. Brentwood Associates, which focuses on niche consumer-brand companies with EBITDA between $5 and $30 million, is one of the leading private equity firms in the [...]

Brentwood Associates partner to speak at 2012 Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Outlook Conference

Every year, leading institutional investors, buyout professionals, venture capitalists and industry experts meet for the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Outlook Conference. Hosted by top editors at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, this leading forecasting event consistently delivers accurate predictions and trend analysis. It is the only private equity event in the country dedicated [...]

Supply of funds overwhelmed demand in 2011

Buyout executives and placement agents didn’t have many kind things to say about 2011, and they aren’t too excited about what 2012 has to offer. “The general fundraising environment is warming, but it’s not hot. 2012 will be mildly better than 2011, but there are a lot of new funds out there,” Bill Barnum, a partner [...]

‘Investors getting a lot more careful,’ says Barnum of LA-based Brentwood Associates

As the third quarter fundraising by U.S. buyouts and mezzanine funds plunged 42 percent, down to $16 billion from the $27.8 billion raised in Q2, Bill Barnum, a partner at Los Angeles-based Brentwood Associates, foresees an even worse fourth quarter. “I get the feeling that investors are getting a lot more careful,” Barnum told Buyouts [...]

Retrospective explores long-term economic consequences of 9/11 attacks

In his ten-year retrospective of 9/11, Buyouts reporter Gregory Roth interviewed private equity leaders throughout the country to explore the long-term economic consequences of the terrorist attacks. “The new world order is far less predictable than it was before the attacks,” Bill Barnum, a partner at Los Angeles-based Brentwood Associates, told Roth for the piece. [...]

‘The consumer industry bounced back pretty significantly,’ Barnum tells Buyouts magazine

Brentwood Associates partner Bill Barnum spoke with Gregory Roth of Buyouts magazine for their June 6 issue on consumer-specialty firms and the ongoing trends of sector-specific private equity funds. “On the whole, the consumer industry bounced back pretty significantly from where it was. It may have been more volatile during the downturn, but now it seems [...]