Fundraising

Delancey, the London-based fund manager run by Jamie Ritblat, son of British property magnate Sir John Ritblat, has set up an unusual fund structure allowing investors to commit long-term, unrestricted capital.

Publisher Ziff Davis is casting off a $150 million subsidiary in the hopes of recovering its financial equilibrium.

The prospects for private equity in the Middle East look good, as a report suggests that the asset class can become a key economic driver in the region in the coming years.

The distressed specialist is riding wave of investment in Vietnamese state-owned businesses.

The ownership of the New York-based middle-market firm has transitioned from its founders to three senior managing directors, in connection with the formation of the firm’s fifth fund.

The Paris-based institutional property manager and its London affiliate Curzon Global Partners have held the third closing for PBW II but will have a final close in September to allow another €30 million of subscriptions.

Lehman Brothers has more than doubled its fund of funds programme with the close of a $1.5 billion vehicle. It is Lehman’s second fund of funds raised since 2003, when the firm acquired Dallas-based fund of funds manager The Crossroads Group.

DIFC, the Dubai government-backed investment group which is a big investor in private equity, has launched a record-sized Islamic finance bond, with the majority of its investors coming from outside the MENA region.

Washington DC-based Emerging Capital Partners has completed the latest of a series of profitable exits from its pioneering African investment program.

Avista Capital – the firm founded by former DLJ head Thompson Dean along with other senior executives from CSFB’s private equity arm – has closed its first fund on $2 billion.