Is the private equity honeymoon period over?

Over the past four years, the private equity industry has enjoyed tremendous growth, through double-digit returns and overall size of funds raised. In the first half of 2006, nearly $96B poured into private equity funds, 43% higher than a year earlier. However, industry watchers predict that the combined environment of rising interest rates and overbidding on assets will trigger a decline, much like in the 80's and 90's. Is private equity history doomed to repeat itself?

Not quite, according to Silverlake Partners, a technology buyout firm based in Menlo Park, CA. Silverlake Partners has rapidly emerged as a leading player in the leveraged buyout sector through some of the largest ever deals including Sungard ($11.5B), Philips Semiconductor ($10.6B) and Seagate ($2.2B).

Join the Wharton Club of Northern California for an engaging discussion with Silverlake's charismatic founder, David Roux, and learn how the changing dynamics of the private equity industry and emergence of hedge funds are influencing fundraising and investment decisions.

Register online

Date. Thursday, September 14, 2006
Time. 5:30pm-6:30pm Reception with appetizers. 6:30-8:00pm Speaker Presentation
Place. Michael's at Shoreline, 2960 Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, CA 94043
Registration. $20 per person for WCNC members and one accompanied guest; $40 for non-member alumni and other guests. Cancellations must be received by Tuesday, September 12th at 3:00pm. $10 additional for tickets after this date, if available.

About David Roux
Mr. Roux is a co-founder of Silver Lake and a Managing Director. He was formerly Chairman and CEO of Liberate Technologies. He worked previously at Oracle Corporation and Lotus Development. He began his technology career as a co-founder and CEO of Datext, Inc., the first commercial CD-ROM publishing company. Mr. Roux currently serves on the boards of Thomson, UGS, and Symantec Corporation, and is Chairman of the Board of Serena Software, Inc. Previously, he was a director of Business Objects, Gartner, Inc., and Chairman of the Board of Seagate Technology. He is a national trustee of Environmental Defense and an advisor to the Positive Coaching Alliance. David has an MBA from Harvard Business School and M.Phil. in Economics from King’s College at Cambridge University. He is a graduate of Harvard College.

About Silverlake Partners
Silver Lake Partners is the leading private equity firm focused solely on investments in technology companies operating at scale. Silver Lake seeks to achieve superior returns by investing with the insight of an experienced industry participant, the operating skill of a world-class management team, and the discipline of a leading private equity firm. Our portfolio includes market leaders like Avago, Flextronics, Gartner, Instinet, NASDAQ, Network General, Seagate, Serena, SunGard, Thomson, and UGS.