New York- The growth of hedge funds and private equity firms from small shops into major institutions has broadened their reach across the globe and deepened their old arms-length relationship in the process.<\/p>\n
Once viewed as alpha animals trampling distinctly different turf on Wall Street, they now stalk targets together, and the line between them have gotten blurrier.<\/p>\n
These days, private equity firms invite hedge funds into certain deals and invest alongside them on others. So-called buyout firms have launched hedge funds, while hedge funds have ramped up buyout investing.<\/p>\n
Some bankers say it won’t be long before mergers and acquisitions heat up among the investment funds themselves.<\/p>\n
The two sectors are fueling each other’s growth, with buyout funds launching huge takeovers, backed by oceans of debt scooped up by hedge funds.<\/p>\n