Rarely do we hear much publicly from low-profile David Bonderman, the principal partner of the private equity group TPG and former chief operating officer of Fort Worth's Robert M. Bass Group.
Except, that is, when the multibillionaire is throwing himself an extravagant birthday bash, like the one in Las Vegas for his 60th where the Rolling Stones provided the music.Now nearing 70, the bilingual buyout prince opened up recently to London's Financial Times, baring gloomy news that would-be investors might have to accept lower returns if the stock markets don't improve. Private equity firms, the FT noted, depend on a thriving market for initial public offerings of stock to cash out when they want to sell their companies. Investors have come to expect double-digit returns in exchange for locking up their money for a decade.Customarily, the firms only take a cut of the profits above a minimum 8 percent return, which the FT said is becoming an increasingly elusive target. This might prompt the private equity mavens to dip into their customers' profits earlier."If we continue to have zero interest rates, that 8 percent hurdle should go," Bonderman told the paper in Hong Kong, where he's attending a conference. "And people will have to adjust their expectations on returns."Some apparently have adjusted already. Quoting unnamed investors, the FT said Bonderman's new Asian fund had planned to raise at least $4 billion, but has been stuck at about the $1 billion mark.Low interest rates did allow KKR to refinance groaning debt on Energy Future Holdings -- the former TXU, which TPG bought with KKR in the biggest leveraged buyout ever. But Bonderman's TPG has marked down the value of its investment in the Dallas-based power company to 10 cents on the dollar, the paper said, quoting a recent letter to investors. EFH has been losing customers and revenue.None of this has thwarted Bonderman from planning his next big birthday party for himself, again in Las Vegas, the Financial Times reported.Test-drive for treesWant to plant some new trees in North Texas? Take a test-drive in a Nissan Leaf or a Mitsubishi "i" electric vehicle and the participating dealerships will donate $25 to the Texas Trees Foundation.The effort, aimed at getting more drivers to take a spin in an electric auto, is being promoted by eVgo, the electric vehicle charging system company, which is a division of NRG Energy in Houston.If the driver is a Green Mountain Energy or Reliant customer, these companies will donate an extra $25. Each driver's participation could result in a donation as high as $75 to their local tree organization if both EVs featured in the program are test-driven. The money will be used to care for distressed trees and plant new trees in the Metroplex.To participate, go to the website: www.evsfortrees.com/Download a voucher for a test-drive and go to a listed participating dealer. The promotion applies only to the Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price has endorsed the program in a video that can be viewed on YouTube.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727sabaker@star-telegram.comJim Fuquay, 817-390-7552jfuquay@star-telegram.comBarry Shlachter, 817-390-7718barry@star-telegram.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
