TPG - rounding up $7 billion for financial services fund

Back in the 1980s, David Bonderman was the chief dealmaker for Robert Bass, a Texan billionaire. He helped to structure the $550 million buyout of American Savings and Loan Association of California, which was caught in the S&L morass. It was a complex deal, requiring lots of negotiations with federal regulators. But it ultimately turned out to be a great investment. In fact, the bank became a vehicle to finance other deals.

Well, Bonderman is coming back to the future. Now, as the chief of TPG, he's one of the top players in private equity. And he wants to do some finance deals. To this end, he's raising $7 billion for a financial service fund. The investments will range from minority stakes to control situations.

Actually, Bonderman has already been busy with bank deals. For example, he recently assembled the $7 billion equity infusion for Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM). He also approached Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) to do an investment, which, so far, hasn't gone anywhere.

Yet, there are many financial institutions that need cash. Moreover, having TPG as a partner is usually a good thing.

As should be no surprise, it looks like TPG is getting traction on the capital raise, with commitments from the New Jersey State Investment Council and even the government of Singapore.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.