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| Willis Stein & Partners | |
| Size | Recapitalization of private equity fund Willis Stein & Partners III and its associated general partner (fund manager) Willis Stein |
| Date | August 2012 |
| Financial adviser | Moelis & Company |
| return to the Global Deals of the Year index | |
Many of the perceived shadowy corners of the global financial system have had a spotlight cast on them in the wake of the 2008 credit crisis, highlighting some acute problems that might have otherwise remained in the shadows.
For the private equity world, the emergence of so-called zombie funds and companies, with the latter often owned and controlled by the former, is a particularly worrying problem, which could be expected to get a lot worse.
Zombie funds are private equity funds that have reached or passed their expected wind-up date without returning capital to their investors.
They are unlikely to make a profit – or even, in many cases, return investors their capital – yet there has been little prospect of many of them being wound down or restructured successfully, at least until now.