China in auto power play
It might not shake up the industry just yet, but China's interest in Volvo and Saab is the start of something big in global autos, writes columnist Wei Gu. Commentary
Lehman private equity fund increases asset value
AMSTERDAM, June 6 (Reuters) - Dutch-listed Lehman Brothers Private Equity Partners Ltd LBPE.AS, an affiliate of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers LEH.N, increased its net asset value per share by almost 2 percent in May as most of its investments gained in value.
LBPE said in a statement its net asset value per share was $10.74 at May 31, up 1.9 percent from April 30 as its investment portfolio value increased, mainly due to unrealised gains of co-investments in the power and energy services sectors.
Positive mark-to-market revaluations on credit-related investments also pushed up LBPE's net asset value, while negative currency effects limited the gain, LBPE said.
Guernsey-based LBPE raised a total of $542 million last year, issuing shares at $10 a piece. Lehman Brothers owns about 28 percent of LBPE and manages its assets, which are mostly fund and buyout investments.
Shares in LBPE hit a low at $6.71 in January as stock markets declined on credit worries, but have since recovered to close at $8.35 on Wednesday.
Shares of other Dutch-listed funds, such as one managed by Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts [KKR.UL] (KKR.AS) and Apollo (AAA.AS) have also been trading below their issue price.
Dutch-listed Carlyle Capital Corp, which was an affiliate of U.S.-based buyout firm Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] and mainly invested in mortgage-backed assets, went bankrupt in March and liquidated its assets as it could not meet margin calls from its lenders. The fund had more than 30 times leveraged its own capital.
At the end of May, LBPE had $758 million of private equity exposure, of which $261 million were unfunded commitments, it said. (Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Quentin Bryar)
