The plus points of PE
STEPHEN CRANSTON: The ins and outs of private equity
As alternative assets go, private equity (PE) is proving a lot more successful than hedge funds. With more than R170bn under management, PE has more than double the asset base of hedge funds. Yet, if anything, the news flow about private equity has been worse. Think of the notoriety of Bain Capital’s disastrous investment into Edcon. Though it wasn’t technically private equity, the purchase of New Look by Brait’s old PE hands doesn’t look much better. So when Rand Merchant Investment Investment Managers (RMI IM) decided to diversify it had to be selective. There is nothing like keeping it in the family: Ethos was spun out of FNB’s FirstCorp unit and for many years RMB held a hefty stake of its equity before it became fully independent. Under Stuart MacKenzie, Ethos is re-establishing ties with the greater RMB group. While it can get the support of new shareholder RMI, it hasn’t had to join the FirstRand Group itself, with all the accompanying bureaucracy. The best news for Ethos is ...
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