Buyout funds Mega-funds, puny deals

Is the era of the mega-buyout fund finished? It probably should be. The cheap debt that propelled takeovers like those of TXU and HCA has disappeared. The stock market, only slightly off all-time highs, is hardly in bargain territory. It’s hard to see how private equity can put huge slabs of investors’ money to work profitably. Yet buyout houses have reasons to continue raising mega-funds – the biggest being juicy fees. So even though the mega-buyout should go the way of the dodo bird, its extin...