BERLIN - The benefits of going public remained a hotly debated topic among private equity leaders as they gathered at SuperReturn International, the private equity gathering in Berlin.
On Tuesday, David Bonderman, the co-founder of TPG Capital, let slip that the firm was contemplating an initial public offering, a move that many of its rivals have undertaken in recent years. But he was coy about whether TPG would actually go through with it.
Other industry leaders said they weren’t convinced a public offering was necessary for them at this stage of the game.
Joseph C. Schull, the head of Europe at Warburg Pincus, said on Tuesday that the private equity firm would only consider a public float if its ability to raise capital was limited because it wasn’t publicly listed.
The Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Carlyle Group and Apollo Global Management have all listed their shares publicly in recent years.
The move has been controversial as some in the industry have expressed fears that sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and others might limit their investments with publicly traded firms - namely because of the difficult balance in achieving long-term returns while meeting the quarterly expectations of shareholders.
But Johannes P. Huth, the head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at K.K.R., said being public had allowed the firm to invest in new areas like oil and gas and to expand in its operations when competitors were contracting in the years following the financial crisis.
“Going public allowed us to do a number of things,†he said.
