Hi Kemble! I just saw this and I am printing it now. Very interesting read... Amazing how everything adds up! Kind of leaves me speechless! :)Leigh
quote.bloomberg.com Michael Dell Is Expanding His Fortune With MSD Capital
By David Gillen
How Michael Dell Is Expanding His Fortune With MSD Capital
New York, March 7 (Bloomberg) -- Telecom technologies inc.
Intelligent Reasoning Systems Inc. e-Steel Corp.
Few people may have heard of these young companies, but at
least one big investor has: Michael S. Dell, the ``MSD' in New
York investment firm MSD Capital LP.
The two-year-old firm, which manages money for Dell, has been
shelling out of late. Since August, it has bankrolled at least
half a dozen companies and taken a hand in investments totaling
more than $1 billion.
``The buzz is that they are quality investors -- and smart,'
says Robert Goodman, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, which
along with MSD and other venture capitalists last year invested
$66 million in e-Steel, an online steel exchange.
Folks hoping to invest with Michael Dell are out of luck: He
is MSD's only client. But watch where MSD puts his money. After
all, the Texan built Dell Computer Corp. At 35, he is worth $20
billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Leading the push at MSD Capital are two former Goldman, Sachs
& Co. bankers, Glenn Fuhrman and John Phelan. Phelan, in an e-
mail, says Dell's investments are his own affair and that MSD
Capital doesn't comment on them.
Goldman Vets
MSD's Web site, though, provides a few clues about the people
managing Dell's fortune.
Fuhrman worked at Goldman Sachs from 1988 to 1998. Among
other things, he helped manage money for Goldman's own partners
and employees.
Phelan, by contrast, has expertise in real estate. From 1986
to 1988, he was a Goldman investment banker, focusing on property.
From there, he went to head acquisitions in the western U.S. for
the Zell-Merrill Lynch Real Estate Opportunity Funds. From 1992 to
1997, he was a principal at ESL Partners, a Greenwich, Connecticut
investment firm.
In all, MSD employs about 20 people at its Lexington Avenue
offices, the firm says.
Dell's 1999 investments included stakes in e-Steel, online
car dealer CarsDirect.com and RealNames Corp., which created a
keyword search system for the Web. All three are likely to go
public, possibly this year.
Just getting backing from Michael Dell may be enough to help
pique the interest of other investors.
``People know he wouldn't have invested if he hadn't done a
lot of due diligence,' says Terri Griffin, vice president of
marketing at telecom technologies, a Richardson, Texas company
that makes network controllers.
Eyeing IPO
Until MSD Capital came along last year, telecom technologies
had never sought venture capital, Griffin says. But when a mutual
acquaintance brought the two together, the company jumped to
secure Dell as a backer. MSD bought a minority stake for an
undisclosed sum. Phelan joined the board in December.
``Our goal is hopefully to IPO near term,' Griffin says,
adding that MSD Capital is helping her company prepare for a
public stock sale and line up investment bankers.
This year, MSD went on to buy a $13 million stake in
Intelligent Reasoning Systems, an Austin company that makes
optical inspection equipment for printed circuit boards.
Then in February, in a departure from technology, MSD Capital
joined other investors to buy Monsanto Co.'s NutraSweet and Equal
artificial sweetener business for $570 million, though its role
was relatively small, according to a person familiar with the
transaction.
Says Robert Brisco, chief executive of CarsDirect.com, ``MSD
Capital has been a very positive and supportive shareholder along
the way, and we welcome a continuing relationship with the
company.' Who wouldn't want Michael Dell in their corner? |
