UPDATE 2-SVG Capital assets rise, launches 50 mln stg tender

* Net asset value rises to 337.1 pence

* Prices 50 mln stg tender offer at 10 pct discount to NAV

* Plans to return 170 mln stg to shareholders

* Shares up nearly 9 pct

By Simon Meads

LONDON, Feb 9 - Private equity investor SVG Capital said asset values recovered some lost ground in the final quarter of 2011, as the company launched a 50 million pound tender offer to buy back shares.

Private equity firms are under pressure once again as tough trading conditions and volatile stock markets, against which they benchmark their investments, weigh on the performance of their privately-owned companies.

SVG said net asset value was 337.1 pence at end-December compared with 319.4 pence at the end of the third quarter, and up 12.8 percent for the year.

After a large rise in the first half, asset valuations had slumped some 15 percent in the three months to end-October.

SVG is seen as a proxy for major European buyouts house Permira, owner of companies including fashion group Hugo Boss and frozen foods maker Birdseye Iglo, because its investments in Permira account for nearly 80 percent of its value.

The listed private equity group priced a 50 million pound ($79.09 million) tender to buy shares at a 10 percent discount to end-year net asset value, a widely-used industry benchmark used to measure the per share value of an investment portfolio.

The offer is at the top end of the price range announced in December, which helped push SVG shares up more than 8 percent to 258.2 pence at 0953 GMT.

"We continue to believe this is not quite as good as it looks," said Oriel Securities analyst Iain Scouller in a note to investors.

The tender at an estimated price of 315 pence would result in the purchase of just 5 percent of SVG's stock, Scouller said.

The offer is the first step in a plan to return up to 170 million pounds to shareholders.

SVG hopes shareholders will welcome its buyout plan as it gives shareholders an immediate return of cash at a significant premium to the current share price. It mirrors the 170 million pounds the group raised in 2009 to repair its damaged balance sheet.

The private equity industry continues to suffer as tough trading conditions and high debt burdens cripple many companies. Listed investors, such as SVG, suffered not only from indirect exposure to private equity-owned companies, but also from the fact they themselves borrowed money to boost performance in their funds.

Like many large buyout firms, Permira saw the credit crisis wipe hundreds of millions of euros off the value of the companies it owns.

In a separate statement, Permira said the value of its portfolio rose 16 percent in 2011 due to an increases in sales and profits at many of its companies.