Global Defense Technology & Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:GTEC) Joins the Public Companies Ranks. The public market segment for companies that do business with the U.S. Government has fared far better than the general market in the past decade—but it has a tenuous and fragile nature to it. Leaving aside the Tier I contractors such as Lockheed […]
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (NasdaqGM: TSYS) Swinging for the Fences. Once upon a time there was a struggling little government contractor in Annapolis, headed by a larger-than-life Naval Academy officer who had to be out of his depth thinking that he could convert his modest foothold in the government market into a major public company. I […]
The AES Corporation—Did Anybody Notice This Little Investment? Because AES is a power generation company with worldwide projects and operations, it does not really play in the local sandbox. Nevertheless, with revenues of over $14 billion and a market cap over $9 billion, it is easily one the largest companies headquartered in the region. And […]
Coastal Sunbelt and MCG Capital—A Sign of Tough Times? Here is a follow-the-trail story. At the end of November, I noticed an SEC filing of a private placement of $20 million for something called “Coastal Acquisition Corp.” That is a sizeable capital raise. No press release. No indication of who this company was. So, we […]
Allied Capital–End of an Era, End of a Local Institution. In October, Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE:ALD) announced that it was selling to Ares Capital Corporation in NYC (NASDAQ:ARCC). Thus ends one of the most storied finance companies in the region—a company whose origins pre-date almost all of us who have benefited from having this expertise […]
TEOCO, GlycoMimetics and United BioSource—Private Placement or Acquisition? It is an issue that has interested us for years. When is an investment a buyout and when is it a venture investment? The line used to be very clear. Buyout funds absolutely had to have control, and control was defined as over 50% of the voting […]
NEA, One of the First Mega-Funds. Will Smaller Funds Survive? NEA, for as long as most of us can remember, has been an elite leader in the venture capital industry. It comes as no surprise that NEA was listed at the top of all venture funds in terms of number of investments for the three […]
American Capital Ltd (Nasdaq: ACAS) is one of the most unheralded and downright ignored finance stories in the Mid-Atlantic. In the past decade, American Capital has added scores of middle market acquisitions and investments to its portfolios,
Columbia Capital, since 1989, has been one of the premier private equity funds and citizens in the Mid-Atlantic. People have often wanted Columbia to be more than it is and have come away disappointed when Columbia sticks consistently to its knitting
CalPERS stands for California Public Employees’ Retirement System. It is one of the powerhouses of investing in America, placing tens and hundreds of millions of dollars at a throw in only the largest and best known private equity firms