Christopher Witkowsky

The bank’s Alternative Investment Partners division will target buyout funds in North America and Western Europe, global venture and global special situations funds.

GS Vintage Fund V will focus on LP private equity interests and providing liquidity to LPs and GPs around the world, focusing on deals ranging in size from $1m to $1bn.

Credit Suisse has filed a lawsuit against Netherlands-based family office Plaza Group, claiming it illegally transferred hundreds of millions in LP interests 'in a brazen conspiracy'. Bankrupt Plaza has blamed Credit Suisse for encouraging it to back 'poorly performing funds'.

The private equity firm has created a site for potential sellers and buyers of its fund interests to exchange info, a move that puts Sun Capital into one of the IRS’ ‘safe harbours’ from certain US tax regulations.

Blackstone’s CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman also said in an earnings call earlier last week that 'to our knowledge' no Blackstone private equity fund interest has been sold on the secondaries market.

Other than this secondaries play, the $2.3bn pension may commit no further capital to private equity GPs this year as it struggles with a 'cash flow crunch'.

The Washington, DC-based mega-firm has already made investments from Carlyle Mezzanine Partners II and bought some mezzanine investments on the secondaries market.

A management group from Lehman Brothers Venture Partners will spin-out to become Tenaya Capital, which will have $750m in capital and 45 portfolio companies. HarbourVest completed a synthetic secondary transaction as part of the spin-out.

The Southern California-based private equity advisor has hired James Gamett to head up secondary investments, which the company believes has become an attractive investment area.

The New York-based secondaries firm plans to capitalise on an expanding secondary market in 2009 and 2010. Fund VII will invest mostly in the US, but also in emerging markets.