I’ve worked with private firms and public firms. And, it’s always amazing how different things were years ago. But, now, many “private” firms (yes, I put them in quotes) were public firms that have been purchased by private equity entities, by venture capitalists, or similars.
Continue reading Behind Curtain #1…
I have been blessed with working with a variety of clients over the years- companies included on the Fortune 50, Fortune 500, Fortune 5000, WhoHasAFortune?, and the Inc5000, among other entities. I’ve also worked with and for venture capital and private equity firms, helping them determine if an investment is the proper fit. (That process is typically called ‘due diligence’.)
Continue reading And you thought Vulture Capitalists were bad?
BankUnited, as I warned, is back in the news. It seems that the CEO of the “equity fund” that bought the bank (for virtually no money, as you should recall or can read here), John Kanas, is ready to cash in- for a price. BankUnited has retained Goldman Sachs to entice/entertain various offers. Two offers were already made (rumor says) and were undergoing evaluation: one from BBT (Branch Banking and Trust) and the other from Toronto-Dominion Bank (the entity who acquired Commerce Bank). (PNC Bank elected NOT to participate in this auction effort.)
Continue reading Bank $henanigans?
As we discussed in Parts 1 and 2, it sure looked like BankUnited was a “success” on paper. Its mortgage portfolio (the value of loans the bank held) had escalated from $ 6.1 billion in 2004 to $ 12.5 billion by 2007. (Unfortunately, some 70% of their entire portfolio was based upon Option ARM’s.) A few months later, the value of these Option ARM loans were equal to almost 6 X the entire capital held by the bank. (Capital is the money the bank has on hand to insure against failure; it is not the same thing as the bank’s assets [which would be the loans, in this case]- but if the assets are homes subject to mortgages that exceed their worth, you can see the obvious problems.) By the spring of 2008, 92% of BankUnited’s Option ARM’s were underwater. And in 2009, BankUnited was taken over by the Feds.
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