Early this year, it looked like we'd see a flood of IPOs for hedge funds and private equity funds. But with the credit crunch -- and extreme market volatility -- this prediction looks like a bust.Well, FT.com has a story that has some interesting buzz; that is, Renaissance Technologies is thinking of selling a stake to outside investors. This hedge fund manages about $30 billion and has one of the world's brightest investors at the helm, James Simons.
The FT.com says that Renaissance will not use a public offering; instead, it will do a private offering to institutions and wealthy investors. The system is known as Opus 5 and is a joint venture among the Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) Citigroup (NYSE: C), Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER)
In light of the awful public offerings of alternative investment firms -- such as Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) -- I think the private option makes sense.
But, with the uncertainty in the market, it seems like bad timing. Maybe wait just a little while until the dust settles?
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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