Credit Crunch Hits Private Equity

Investment bank fees from private equity firms have fallen from 22% in the first quarter one year ago, to only 9.1% in the first quarter of 2008. The WSJ is reporting that "Total fees paid by private-equity firms globally fell 79% to $1 billion in the first quarter, led by Apollo Management, which paid out $74 million." Even big players, such as the Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, paid less than $5 million in fees in the first quarter, compared to $198 million and $208 million, respectively, in the first quarter of last year. "Crunch" may be an understatement.