Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group Releases Updated U.S. Private Equity Valuation Guidelines



    Responding to the continued need for more consistency and
    transparency in private equity valuations and taking into account
    Statement No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, issued by the Financial
    Accounting Standards Board in September of 2006, the Private Equity
    Industry Guidelines Group has updated its U.S. Private Equity
    Valuation Guidelines. The Updated Guidelines assist private equity
    participants in complying with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting
    Principles which require fair value reporting. The Updated Guidelines
    along with a Frequently Asked Question document may be found at
    www.peigg.org.

    "The release of the Update Guidelines represents an important step
    in the continued evolution of the private equity industry and they
    will help managers value investments in a consistent and transparent
    manner," said PEIGG member Stephen Holmes of InterWest Partners, a
    diversified venture capital firm that invests in information
    technology and life science companies.

    The Guidelines are designed to promote best practices and to
    improve the consistency and relevancy of valuation information
    reported to investors--an objective that is of increasing importance
    to the private equity industry as a whole. "Private Equity Investments
    by their nature are difficult to monitor," said PEIGG member Kevin
    Delbridge of HarbourVest, one of the nation's leading private equity
    fund of fund managers. "To evaluate manager performance on an interim
    basis, to make manager selections and to make asset allocation
    decisions, we need results reported on a common basis. Fair Value as
    outlined in the Guidelines, provides that consistent basis."

    The issuance of FASB Statement No. 157 has again highlighted the
    importance of comparable valuation data. "Private Equity investors,
    that prepare financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, must
    report and record their investments at fair value," said PEIGG member
    David Larsen of Duff & Phelps, a leading independent financial
    advisory firm that specializes in portfolio investment valuation for
    private equity firms and hedge funds. "Therefore, they need fair value
    information from their managers. In addition, most private equity
    partnership agreements require financial statements be prepared in
    accordance with GAAP, which requires fair value. The Guidelines are a
    great tool for the private equity community enabling managers to be
    compliant with Statement No. 157 while taking into account nuances in
    the private equity industry."

    The Updated Guidelines are conceptually in harmony with the
    International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines
    issued in late 2005. PEIGG believes that managers who follow the
    Guidelines will be compliant with GAAP.

    About PEIGG

    The Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group was formed in
    February 2002, and is comprised of a volunteer group of industry-wide
    representatives who have come together to debate and establish a set
    of reporting guidelines for the industry. Its mission is to promote
    increased reporting consistency and transparency while at the same
    time improving operating efficiency in the transfer of information
    among market participants by establishing a set of standard Guidelines
    for the content, formatting and delivery of information. The Group is
    believed to be the first broad-based alliance, comprised of general
    partners, limited partners and service providers participating in both
    the venture and buyout segments of the private equity industry in the
    U.S. and overseas. For more information visit www.peigg.org.