village.albourne.

com Village Voice October 30 2017 - November 3, 2017

Village Stories and New Features

Dear Resident,

If you're currently on the look-out for a new job, you can visit the Job Centre to browse through vacancies posted across a variety of sec-
tors.

Under 'Latest Jobs Available', you'll be able to filter jobs by date, sector, role, and job experience. By clicking on 'country' you can see jobs
near you, or perhaps further afield if you're considering a relocation.

As a job seeker, you can refresh your profile at any time by updating details in your settings. Additionally, you also have the option of
adding your advert in the Thursday edition of the Village daily email, by checking the relevant box under 'Preferences'. Once you've up-
dated your information, your submission will be checked and published by the Village Editors Team.

Please note, however, that if you've ever posted a vacancy on behalf of a company, then your status will automatically be that of 'job ad-
vertiser' - if that's the case, kindly contact us.

Have a nice weekend, and happy job-hunting!

The Village Team

Hedge Fund News

03/11/2017 Mercer Steps Down From Helm of $50bn Hedge Fund
From Reuters Ltd

Hedge fund manager Robert Mercer, a major backer of conservative causes, said on Thursday he plans to step down as co-chief executive
of hedge fund firm Renaissance Technologies and will sell his stake in right-wing news outlet Breitbart News to his daughters.
Mercer, a wealthy investor who spent decades working behind the scenes in conservative politics, made headlines by providing financial
support to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. He and his daughter, Rebekah, advised Trump's campaign and suggested it hire Steve
Bannon and Kellyanne Conway who both joined the new administration.

03/11/2017 Wall St Tax Break Once Blasted by Trump Preserved in Republican Bill
From Reuters Ltd

As a candidate, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to close the "carried interest" tax break that benefits some of Wall Street's wealthi-
est financiers - but the Republican tax bill released on Thursday makes no mention of it.
Carried interest is a share of an investment fund's profits - typically about 20 percent beyond the return guaranteed to investors - that is
paid out to the general partners of private equity, venture capital, real estate and hedge funds.

03/11/2017 Sina Repels Bid by Activist Fund to Shake up Board

From Financial Times

Shareholders in Chinese internet group Sina voted to reelect the group's existing board member on Friday, ending a months-long board-
room proxy battle with activist American hedge fund Aristeia Capital.
Eight-five per cent of shareholders present voted in favour of keeping incumbent board member Yichen Zhang, according to a Sina
spokesperson.

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03/11/2017 Support for Responsible Investing Grows, but Differences Remain

From FINalternatives
Two-thirds of institutional investors use environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations as part of their investment approach,
and 25% expect to increase their allocation to managers with ESG-based investment strategies within one year, according to the second
annual global survey on the subject by RBC Global Asset Management.
However, there is a marked contrast in the perceived value between European and U.S. investors, the survey found. When it comes to ESG
investing, investors in the United States are far less accepting than their European counterparts.

03/11/2017 Credit Suisse CEO Responds to Calls for Bank to Break Up and Will Meet With Activist RBR Capital
From CNBC

In recent weeks, a relatively small but top-performing activist hedge fund announced an ambitious plan to break up Credit Suisse. RBR
Capital Advisors, led by outspoken trader Rudolf Bohli, said it hoped the bank's management would break the lender into three parts....

03/11/2017 The Emergence of a New Kind of Fund Could 'Radically Alter' the Investment Industry
From The Business Insider

Passive investment has exploded in popularity, putting pressure on active managers that charge higher fees.

Variable pricing mutual funds are a way that active managers can charge fees on a performance-driven basis, but they're not without their
risks.

The popularity of low fee exchange-traded funds has come at the expense of active managers, who now have no choice but to fight back.
And in order to stay afloat, they're going to have to get creative....

02/11/2017 Ackman Makes New Bet Against Herbalife With Options

From Reuters Ltd
William Ackman said on Wednesday he has bought options to sell shares of Herbalife Ltd (HLF.N) as a new way to bet against the nutri-
tional supplement company he has described as a pyramid scheme.
The activist investor took a $1 billion bet in 2012 that Herbalife's shares would fall by selling loaned shares which he hoped to buy back
cheaper at a later date.

02/11/2017 Shareholder in Brazil's Oi Leans On Distressed Debt Funds for Support

From Reuters Ltd
An influential shareholder in Brazil's Oi SA (OIBR4.SA) is working with U.S. and UK distressed debt hedge funds to maintain his central role
at the telecoms provider as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection, four sources said.
The funds, the smallest group of Oi bondholders known as the G6, could help Nelson Tanure, who has a 6.5 percent stake in Oi and signi-
ficant board clout, fend off rival restructuring plans by the company's two largest bondholder groups.

02/11/2017 Schonfeld Hedge Fund Starts Taking More Cash

From Bloomberg L.P.
The mostly quant firm seeks $500 million to expand fund teams
External managers across the globe provide diversity of ideas

In a plain, low-slung building along the Long Island Expressway, Steven Schonfeld huddled with two top lieutenants to make a pivotal de-
cision after months of spirited debate: Remain a family office or morph into a hedge fund?

02/11/2017 Top Hedge Fund Manager Crispin Odey: Markets Are 'Starting to Go Hyperbolic'
From The Business Insider

Odey Asset Management's assets under management have halved since 2015. Founder Crispin Odey admits in a letter to investors that his
recent record has been "not good."
Odey continues to make bearish bets on the state of the global economy.

02/11/2017 High-Frequency Traders Shift From Speed Back to Strategy

From Financial News

Faced with diminishing returns and rising costs, HFTs are turning their attention to analytics and smarter trading initiatives to maintain an
advantage.
There is a dawning realisation among all asset classes, including foreign exchange, that a focus on speed is no longer enough to stay
ahead of the game.

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02/11/2017 As New Money Rushes Into ETFs, a Price War Breaks Out Among Managers
From CNBC

U.S.-based exchange-traded funds have $3.2 trillion of assets, an increase of 11 percent this year.
The biggest worry for the industry is a continuing price war that is threatening profits. Talk of industry consolidation among the 70 or so
providers is already in the air.
In the biggest year ever for ETFs, the giant SPY has lost assets and its cheaper competitors have gained assets.

02/11/2017 The New York "Salary Rule" Will Cause Chaos for Hedge Funds
From eFinancialCareers.com

It's day one of the new "salary history rule" on Wall Street. As of today, employers in New York City, can't ask potential recruits how much
they were paid in previous roles. The change is set to cause problems for anyone recruiting for banks, but chaos for anyone recruiting for
hedge funds.
At issue is the unpredictability of hedge fund pay.

01/11/2017 Net Shorts on US Bonds Rise Ahead of Fed Chair Pick

From Reuters Ltd
The margin of investors who said they had fewer longer-dated Treasuries than their benchmarks over those who held more longer-dated
bonds than their benchmarks increased in the latest week, JPMorgan Chase & Co's latest client survey showed on Tuesday.
Investors have scaled back their holdings of longer-dated government debt on speculation U.S. President Donald Trump might nominate a
Federal Reserve chair who favors a faster pace of interest rate increases, analysts said.

01/11/2017 Behind Credit Suisse's $1bn Lehman Fight, a Risky Trade

From Bloomberg L.P.

Swiss bank is last to resolve Lehman derivatives litigation...Lender is said to have sold most of its claim to hedge funds...

Three years into the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse Group AG made a bold move.

It was around 2011 and most of its peers were settling claims that Lehman owed them billions of dollars from failed derivatives trades.
Instead of joining in, Credit Suisse -- which had said Lehman owed it $1.2 billion from such trades -- decided to sell most of that claim to
hedge funds, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The transaction, which requires Credit Suisse to pay back the hedge funds
with interest if its claim isn't allowed, gave the bank a slug of cash during a difficult period, while letting it to forge ahead with a legal battle
for the full amount it said it was owed.

01/11/2017 Concerns of "Brain Drain" Over Extension of Senior Managers Regime to Insurers, Asset Managers
and Hedge Funds

Plans from regulators to make top managers across the financial services industry personally responsible for the wrongdoing of their ju-
nior colleagues risk a "brain drain" away from the City, according to a report published today.
Some 44 per cent of senior managers and compliance officers surveyed by regulatory consultants Bovill said it will be hard to attract qual-
ity candidates to the next generation of senior roles, because personal liability will be higher under the new regime.

01/11/2017 With Two Months to Go, US Faces 'Mad Dash' to Adjust to MiFID
From Bloomberg L.P.
A quarter of U.S. asset managers say MiFID won't apply to them
U.S., U.K. regulators will give leeway on non complying firms

For thousands of brokers, traders and money managers based in the U.S., time is running out.
A shock wave is about to emanate from Brussels, the capital of the 28-nation European Union. That may as well be the dark side of the
moon for some toiling away at financial firms in the U.S. A sweeping set of financial regulations dubbed MiFID II will take hold on Jan. 3, af-
fecting everything from investment research to the booking of transactions. Most have heard of it, but they haven't all fully addressed
what will likely become a seismic industry shift.

01/11/2017 Europe's Biggest Fund Managers Set for Face-Off on How to Trade the Pound
From Bloomberg L.P.
Aberdeen Standard keeps long pound position, sees more hikes
Fidelity cautious on gilts but 'not far' from turning neutral

Some of Europe's biggest fund managers are set for a face-off on how best to trade the U.K.'s first potential interest-rate increase in a dec-
ade.

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Allianz Global Investors GmBH is looking to fade any rally in the pound or a slump in gilts, betting the Bank of England won't signal further
policy tightening given lingering economic and political risks. Fidelity International has a similar view, while Aberdeen Standard
Investments sees scope for more than one increase and prefers to maintain a long position in sterling against the euro.

01/11/2017 David Einhorn Wraps Up a 'Very Challenging' Last Few Days Because of Amazon, GM, Mylan
From CNBC

David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital gained 6.2 percent in the third quarter, compared with the more than 14 percent rise in the S&P 500.

The hedge fund is one of General Motors' biggest investors, and shares of the automaker are down 6 percent in the last week.

Greenlight also holds 2 percent of Mylan's shares, which plummeted 8 percent on Tuesday after a report its president was the target of a
price-collusion investigation.

31/10/2017 Ex-Third Point Partner's Bond Trades Focus of SEC Probe

From Bloomberg L.P.

U.S. regulators are investigating whether a top trader who left Dan Loeb's Third Point hedge fund earlier this year contributed to the mis-
pricing of hard-to-value mortgage bonds, two people familiar with the matter said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is probing whether former Third Point partner Keri Findley caused the thinly traded bonds to be
undervalued, said the people who asked not to be named because the probe isn't public. Findley, 35, left the $18 billion firm in February,
telling people who had direct communications with her that she was retiring and moving to California.

31/10/2017 Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty to 'Ponzi-Like' Hedge Fund Scheme

From Reuters Ltd

A Connecticut man on Monday pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud investors in a hedge fund in what U.S. prosecutors called a "Ponzi-
like scheme" run with another man already charged in a ticketing scam for events like "Hamilton". Steven Simmons, 48, pleaded guilty to
one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses in Manhattan, the office of
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim in Manhattan announced.

31/10/2017 Britain's Taxman Wants to Make Money From MiFID

From Bloomberg L.P.

Banks and money managers are waiting to hear if one of life's certainties -- taxes -- will apply to investment research payments under
MiFID II. As the clock ticks down to the Jan. 3 start of the European Union's revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, the British
taxman has been meeting with industry groups to discuss tax issues related to the law, a spokesperson said. Lawyers said they expect Her
Majesty's Revenue and Customs to publish guidance on applying value added tax to research payments soon.

31/10/2017 Australia's Westpac Was A Lead Actor In Rates Rigging, Regulator Tells Court
From Reuters Ltd

The Australian corporate regulator accused Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) of playing a leading role in the widespread manipulation of an
important financial trading rate as it took the country's No. 2 lender to court on Tuesday.
In an opening address to the Federal Court, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) laid out its case against Westpac,
saying the bank was motivated to influence the Bank Bill Swap Rate, a crucial rate for the Australian finance system usually referred to as
BBSW, because billions of dollars worth of its products were affected it.

31/10/2017 Brent Crude Tries New Trading Range As Funds Stay Bullish
From Reuters Ltd
Hedge funds have added to bullish positions in oil and most refined products even as prices hit their highest since 2015, in a sign investors
expect prices to move into a higher range.
Hedge funds and other money managers had accumulated bullish long positions in crude, gasoline and heating oil totaling 1.189 billion
barrels by Oct. 24, according to regulatory and exchange data. Portfolio managers have increased long positions in the five main petro-
leum contracts by almost 374 million barrels (46 percent) since the end of June and the number of paper barrels now comfortably exceeds
the previous peak set in February.

31/10/2017 Pimco Quants Find Stocks Need a Better Hedge Than Just Bonds
From Bloomberg L.P.

The old recipe of using bonds to hedge against risks from equity holdings may not be a winner anymore, and investors would be better off
with a more complex approach that relies on multiple tactics, according to Pacific Investment Management Co. analysis.

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village.albourne.com Village Voice October 30 2017 - November 3, 2017

With stock prices hitting historic highs across the globe, and the U.S. enjoying its second-longest bull run in history, there's plenty of
reason to seek protection. All the more so when measures of volatility in equity, currency and bond markets sit near the lowest levels ever -
- a potential gauge that complacency has set in. But after a three-decade bull run of their own, debt securities may not be the best option
for shoring up returns.

30/10/2017 Activist White Tale Demands Clariant Board Seats, Review

From Reuters Ltd
White Tale Holdings, the activist investor that thwarted a $20 billion merger between Clariant and U.S. rival Huntsman, on Monday deman-
ded three seats on the Swiss chemical maker's board and an independent strategic review of the business.
The companies dropped their merger plans on Friday after White Tale, an investment vehicle backed by hedge fund manager Keith Meister
and New York-based fund 40 North, raised its Clariant stake to more than 20 percent. "While the termination of the ill-conceived Huntsman
merger is a positive first step in executing on this strategy, by no means is this a cause for celebration," White Tale said. "The work is just
beginning."

30/10/2017 Hexagon's CEO Pleads Not Guilty At Norway Insider Trading Trial
From Reuters Ltd

Hexagon AB (HEXAb.ST) Chief Executive Ola Rollen, one of Sweden's best known business leaders, pleaded not guilty on Monday at the
start of a trial for suspected insider share trading in Norway. If convicted, Rollen faces up to six years in prison for an investment in Next
Biometrics (NEXT.OL) made in 2015. The transaction did not involve Hexagon itself. "I have a strong desire to testify," he told the Oslo
District Court. Asked by the judge whether he was guilty as charged, a stern-looking Rollen answered "No".

30/10/2017 Mercer Hedge Fund Tax Dispute Moves to IRS Appeals Office
From Bloomberg L.P.

A tax dispute involving Renaissance Technologies, the hedge fund firm whose co-chief executive officer is a prominent backer of President
Donald Trump, is advancing to a new phase. Members of the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Appeals are scheduled to meet with law-
yers for Renaissance in New York on Nov. 7, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The meeting kicks off a review by an in-
dependent branch of the tax agency and suggests a resolution may be years away.

30/10/2017 Fed Up With Stocks, Canada Hedge Fund Turns to PE, Gains 88%
From Bloomberg L.P.
Goodwood's SPValue Fund posts best one-year equity return
ETFs have made small-cap investing a 'tough, tough business'

The manager of one of Canada's top-performing hedge funds says ETFs have made it difficult to make money in small-cap stocks, so he's
shifting his focus to private equity instead. Toronto-based Goodwood Inc., with about C$100 million ($78 million) under management, was
a double winner at Canada's main hedge fund awards this month. Its SPValue Fund won Alternative IQ's award for best one-year return in
the equity category, with an 88 percent gain, and its Milford Fund won for best five-year return in the credit category, with an annual 9.8
percent gain.

30/10/2017 Hedge Funds Pile Into a Beef Rally

From Bloomberg L.P.

Even a boom in beef supplies hasn't kept hedge funds from stampeding into the cattle market thanks to robust global demand for the
meat.

Strong U.S. exports have helped to offset a jump in domestic supplies. Americans are chowing down on more beef and showing a particu-
lar hankering for ribs recently.

Private Equity News

03/11/2017 London IPO Market Hit as Arqiva and Bakkavor Pull Floats
From Reuters Ltd

Broadcasting masts group Arqiva and ready meals supplier Bakkavor abandoned plans to launch two of the biggest floats in London this
year on Friday, dealing a blow to Britain's market for initial public offerings (IPO). Arqiva, which had tried to sell itself before announcing its
listing on Oct. 23, said it had postponed its float from which it had planned to raise about 1.5 billion pounds ($1.96 billion), blaming "IPO
market uncertainty". The masts business will "revisit" the listing when conditions "improve", it added.

03/11/2017 US Tax Reform Plan Hits Shares In Private Equity And Homebuilders
From Financial Times

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village.albourne.com Village Voice October 30 2017 - November 3, 2017

Shares of private equity groups and homebuilders were hit on Thursday as investors weighed up the implications of Republicans' plan to
overhaul the US tax system.
Led by Apollo Global Management, shares of private equity groups fell sharply on proposals to cap the tax deductibility of interest pay-
ments that exceed 30 per cent of income, which could hurt buyout firms that use debt to finance most of their acquisitions.

03/11/2017 Funko Extends Playtime to Its Accounting

From Bloomberg L.P.

Funko, the purveyor of 2017's version of bobble-head dolls, appears to have a big head when it comes to its financial results.Shares of the
company priced on Wednesday night at $12 and are scheduled to begin trading on Thursday morning. The pricing was below the indicated
range of $14 to $16, but even that may have been too high.

03/11/2017 Time for 3G to Get Krafty

From Bloomberg L.P.

Kraft Heinz Co., a food company managed by a private equity firm, increasingly looks like a food company managed by a private equity
firm. At one time that may have been a compliment, but lately it's revealing Kraft Heinz's vulnerabilities. The $95 billion packaged-food
giant reported Wednesday that total revenue increased for the first time in the two years since 3G Capital and Warren Buffett merged Kraft
Foods with H.J. Heinz and put 3G's partners in charge of the new company. But excluding positive currency effects (something that also
aided rivals Kellogg Co. and Mondelez International Inc.), this revenue increase was a mere 0.3 percent. I'd call that flat. Furthermore,
North America continued to be the sore spot, which is troubling given that it accounts for more than three-quarters of total revenue.

02/11/2017 Qualcomm, JMC Seek to Exit Alphabet-Backed New York Wifi Project
From Reuters Ltd

Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc and private equity firm JMC Capital Partners are looking to sell their stakes in a joint venture that operates more
than 1,300 free WiFi kiosks fashioned from old phone booths around New York City, according to people familiar with the matter.

02/11/2017 WPP takes Legal Action in Spat with Asatsu-DK Over Bain Offer
From Reuters Ltd

An acrimonious spat between advertising giant WPP (WPP.L) and its partner Asatsu-DK Inc (9747.T) over a $1.35 billion offer for the
Japanese firm from Bain Capital has deepened, with WPP saying it was taking legal action.

02/11/2017 Kraft Heinz Sales Finally Grow, But Not Enough for Investors
From Bloomberg L.P.

It's going to take more than a little bit of sales growth to mollify Kraft Heinz Co. investors.
The shares declined in late trading, even after the maker of ketchup and Oscar Meyer hot dogs posted its first-ever sales increase.
Underneath the revenue expansion, which still fell short of analysts' expectations, was a weak performance across a swath of categories
including nuts, cheese, meat and coffee.

02/11/2017 Fund Managers Are Far Less Giddy About Southeast Asia This Year
From Bloomberg L.P.

Southeast Asia is on track to receive less than half the private capital it lured from fund managers in 2016.
Investment across the region's economies slowed to just $896 million in the first half of 2017, compared with last year's overall total of
$4.2 billion, according to data from the Emerging Market Private Equity Association. Singapore attracted the most funds in the period, fol-
lowed by Vietnam.

02/11/2017 Founder of China-Backed Firm Facing Insider Trading Charges

From Bloomberg L.P.

The co-founder of the Chinese private equity firm that has agreed to take over the U.K.'s Imagination Technologies Group Plc has been
charged with insider trading by U.S. authorities.
Benjamin Chow has been indicted for conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with $5 million insider trading scheme relating
to the securities of U.S. chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor Corp., the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said in a
statement late Monday.

02/11/2017 Private Equity Firm Permira to Buy Duff & Phelps for $1.75 bln
From Reuters Ltd

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Private equity firm Permira Funds said on Wednesday it would buy corporate finance adviser Duff & Phelps for $1.75 billion to tap the
growing demand for advisory services as regulators push for improved corporate practices. U.S. regulators have tightened the noose on
companies' accounting and corporate practices since the 2009 financial crisis. The recent accounts scandal at Wells Fargo and a data
breach at Equifax have revived calls for stricter scrutiny.

02/11/2017 Blackstone Buys Warehouses from Principal for $500 Million

From National Real Estate Investor

Blackstone Group LP acquired a group of Southern California warehouses and related properties from Principal Real Estate Investors, ex-
panding its bet on growing web commerce and global trade. The New York-based private equity firm paid $500 million for the buildings,
according to a person with knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be named because the details are private. The properties total
about 4 million square feet (371,600 square meters).

02/11/2017 NYSTRS Invests $200m In Blackstone Asia Real Estate Fund

From IPE.com

Blackstone's second Asia-Pacific real estate fund is receiving a $200m (171m) capital boost from the New York State Teachers Retirement
System (NYSTRS). The US pension fund said told IPE Real Assets it had invested in the Blackstone Real Estate Partners Asia II fund.
Blackstone declined to comment.

02/11/2017 Neuberger Berman Seeks $500m for Fund of Funds

From Financial News

Neuberger Berman is seeking to raise a $500m private equity fund of funds...According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, the fund will include two separate buyout portfolios, one dedicated to small and mid-cap buyout funds and another for large-
cap buyouts. It will be able to back managers specialising in distressed and special situations investments as well as straightforward buy-
outs.

01/11/2017 Tencent Unit Raises $1.1bn After Pricing Hong Kong IPO At Top End
From Reuters Ltd

China Literature, China's No.1 online publisher, and some of its existing shareholders are set to raise a combined HK$8.33 billion ($1.1 bil-
lion), after pricing its Hong Kong public offering at top of the indicative range, the IFR reported. The Chinese publishing and e-book com-
pany, majority owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd, priced its IPO at the top end of the HK$48HK$55 indicative range, the Thomson Reuters
publication reported on Wednesday, citing people close to the deal.

01/11/2017 Canyon Bridge Founder Faces Insider Trading Charge

From Financial Times

US prosecutors have charged the founder of Canyon Bridge, a private equity firm with ties to the Chinese state, with insider trading, just as
its acquisition of one of the UK's best-known technology companies was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders. Canyon Bridge, which
has been in the process of completing its purchase of chip designer Imagination Technologies, said it was confident this would not be held
up by any criminal proceedings against its founder Benjamin Chow, and Imagination would be delisted from the London Stock Exchange
as planned, on November 8.

01/11/2017 Australia's Capricorn Copper Mine Set To Start Production In Nov

From Mining.com

Capricorn Copper, a mine in the Australian state of Queensland, is set to start production this month, said the chief executive of its part
owner, Australian private equity fund EMR Capital.
Capricorn will be one of just a few copper mines to come onstream globally in recent years, which has prompted sector analysts to warn of
a possible shortfall in supply of the metal.

01/11/2017 Carlyle Isn't in a Rush for Permanent Capital

From Bloomberg L.P.

At a time when KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group LP are finding ways to lock up client money for longer, Carlyle Group LP's David
Rubenstein doesn't seem to be in a rush to do the same. The private equity behemoth, where co-founder Rubenstein is the chief fun-
draiser, can revisit investor wallets with relative ease, he said Tuesday.

01/11/2017 Banks Close To Selling Down 375m Alvest Buyout Loan

From Reuters Ltd

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village.albourne.com Village Voice October 30 2017 - November 3, 2017

Bankers are wrapping up a 375m-equivalent leveraged loan financing backing a buyout of French airport ground support firm Alvest,
banking sources said on Tuesday. Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et Placement du Quebec and private equity firm Ardian entered
into exclusive talks to acquire a significant stake in Alvest from French Sagard Private Equity Partners, the companies said in September.

31/10/2017 China's Sinopec Mulls US Oil Projects Ahead of Trump's Visit

From Reuters Ltd

China's state oil major Sinopec is evaluating two projects in the United States that could boost Gulf Coast crude oil exports and also expand
storage facilities in the Caribbean, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump set to visit
Beijing next week.
With U.S.-China energy trade likely to feature prominently during Trump's visit, the people said one of the projects could see Sinopec part-
nering with U.S. commodities trader Freepoint Commodities LLC and U.S. private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners LLC.

31/10/2017 Cinven Gobbles Up a 450m Stake in Berry Supplier Planasa

From City A.M

Private equity firm Cinven has agreed to buy a majority stake in Planasa, a global berry supplier, for 450m (397m) in an effort to capital-
ise on growth in health and wellness trends.
Headquartered in Spain, Planasa provides seeds, plants and research and development services to farmers and fresh produce to retailers
around the world.

31/10/2017 Asian Funds in Talks to Buy Pearson's English Language Unit

From Reuters Ltd

Two Asian funds are nearing a deal to buy Pearson's (PSON.L) English-language school business after trumping a rival bid from private
equity firm MBK Partners, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Baring Private Equity Asia and Citic Capital Holdings, which made a joint bid to purchase Pearson's network of 400 language-training cen-
ters, have entered exclusive talks for the unit, known as Wall Street English (WSE), the sources said.

31/10/2017 China-Backed Buyout Fund Founder Charged in US Insider Trading Case

From Reuters Ltd

The founder of a private equity firm with Chinese state backing has been charged with insider trading related to the attempted acquisition
of Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC.O), U.S. authorities said on Monday.

30/10/2017 HSH Nordbank Privatization Attracts Private Equity Offers

From Reuters Ltd

The owners of Germany's HSH Nordbank [HSH.UL] received binding offers from private equity groups Apollo (APO.N), Cerberus [CBS.UL]
and J.C. Flowers by a deadline on Friday as part of its EU-enforced privatization, people close to the matter said.
The owners of HSH Nordbank, which required a state rescue after being hit by the slump in the shipping industry, confirmed in a state-
ment on Sunday that they have received binding offers for the bank but did not elaborate further.

30/10/2017 Middle Eastern Investment on the Rise

From Private Equity News

Investment in the Middle East is rising, but the region needs to create a smoother path for private-equity investors if it is to continue to at-
tract private capital.
Private-equity investments in the Middle East have totalled approximately $3.14 billion in the year through October 23, more than the
$2.53 billion raised to invest in the region in the whole of 2016, according to data provider Dealogic.

30/10/2017 KKR Europe Chief Looks to French Deals as Brexit Looms

From Financial Times

The European head of KKR has said the US private equity group is more cautious about doing UK deals because of worries over Brexit, and
is likely to invest more in France, attracted by the optimism generated by President Macron.
Johannes Huth moved from London to Paris earlier this year because of Brexit as well as for personal reasons. He said in a rare interview
that the extra risks created by Brexit would be a factor when considering new UK investments at KKR. The group has $153bn of assets
under management and orchestrated some of Europe's biggest buyouts, including that of pharmacy chain Alliance Boots.

30/10/2017 JC Flowers' OneSavings Looks Like Winner in Battle of Private Equity-Backed Challenger Banks
From Private Equity News

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village.albourne.com Village Voice October 30 2017 - November 3, 2017

OneSavings Bank PLC, a British bank set up with investment from New York-based JC Flowers & Co., may turn out to be the pick of a crop
of upstart lenders launched with private-equity backing in recent years. Several so-called challenger banks were founded in the wake of
the financial crisis, encouraged by a push by regulators to drum up competition for the U.K.'s dominant lenders. Private-equity firms were
involved in several such ventures, with mixed results. A recent takeover bid for U.K. lender Aldermore Group PLC, could leave JC Flowers as
the last of that group of buyout firms left in the game.