Step One in OK for PE-Bank Deal - Find an Ex-Regulator

"Getting through regulatory hurdles is a tough slog for many private-equity firms that want to buy banks or start them up, but some have found that having former bank regulators by their side help make a deal work.

'Bringing a regulator in creates confidence in respect to the team's integrity - you bring some level of regulatory sensitivity and knowledge to the table and that makes you a better buyer,' says Edwin del Hierro, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis who led the legal advisory assignment for the Seaside investor group."

This article appeared in its entirety in the December 4, 2009 edition of Investment Dealer's Digest.