David Bonderman is a legend in the world of private equity, where he is well known for his risk-taking style and for doing mega deals, often against the headwinds of financial turbulence. It's an approach that has helped him transform his buyout firm TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group) into one of the world's largest.
So it was fitting that when he flew into Hong Kong recently, he headed straight into the hurricane-force winds from Typhoon Nesat. It was the first typhoon to hit Hong Kong this year and it shut down much of the city - with financial markets, schools and port services suspended and several dozen flights delayed or diverted.
His private jet circled in the air and attempted to land twice before it succeeded. But when he sauntered into an Island Shangri-La suite for an interview with the South China Morning Post, he showed no signs of being a harried passenger after a bumpy ride in the middle of a typhoon.
Bonderman, who seldom wastes time on small talk and rarely gives interviews, made no mention of the typhoon or the rocky ride. Instead, he went straight to talking about the strong winds battering the world economy. He also talked about his long-term bullish views on Asia - China in particular - and the looming competition from home-grown private equity firms.
'Well, I think, the biggest concern for our business and other investment businesses is the current state of the global economy, and the resulting volatility in various markets,' he said. 'I think it is time for caution.'
Indeed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg at the end of last month, private equity transactions surged 51 per cent to US$287 billion this year from a year ago. But growing economic uncertainties and volatile equity and debt markets have slowed recent deal-making. Announced transactions last month fell to US$8.2 billion from US$29 billion in August.
