General Peter Pace Lands Another Board Slot with Defense CyberSecurity Firm

Qualys announced the appointment of General Peter Pace to its Board of Directors. Qualys provides cyber security services. Products include defense department applications. Business Wire reported:

With four decades of distinguished Marine Corps service, most recently as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Military, General Pace brings expertise and interest in cybersecurity and geopolitical issues to help guide Qualys expansion within state and government agencies.

"Qualys, who pioneered the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model for IT security and compliance, has demonstrated significant traction and industry leadership. Qualys continues to help organizations and government agencies address the significant security challenges we are facing,” said General Pace. “Cybersecurity threats have become a national priority and I look forward to working with the Qualys team to provide strategic guidance around the issues that affect IT security and foreign and domestic governance

This makes the fifth company utilizing General Pace's management skills and insider political connections. The list includes:

Berman Capital
SM&A Strategic Advisers (first year compensation $560,000 for part time work)
Neohapsis (owned by Trident Capital, which also owns Qualys)
Finmeccanica

Qualys is privately owned, mostly by venture capital firms. The firm did not release Peter's board compensation. General Pace is an insider in America's Government-Industrial Monstrosity, Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex on steroids. He mines his contacts for big money. Obama's General James Jones loves Cyber-Warfare, Peter Pace wins.

Update: General Pace landed a board seat with Pike Electric Corporation.

Update 11-21-10:  Pace is now on the board of ILC Industries and Pelican Products, according to Pike's SEC filing.

Update 3-18-11:   General Pace sits on the board of AAR Corp.  It's Government and Defense Services division is the fastest growing segment and now provides the largest share of revenue.  Pace received 2,000 shares in a restricted stock award.

Carlyle Group's New $1 Billion Asia Fund

The Carlyle Group's new $1.04 billion Asia fund will target Chinese and Indian companies with potential for rapid growth. WSJ reported:

"Asia remains a core focus of our global business, and Carlyle continues to devote more resources to China and India," said Carlyle founder David Rubenstein in a statement.

What is Carlyle's track record in Asia? In addition to some big winners:

Carlyle saw its $25 million investment in China's Credit Orienwise Group Ltd. sour as the overleveraged credit guarantee firm struggled with losses and the company admitted to fraud taking place at a unit.

This isn't the first Carlyle affiliate to get a bloody nose. Vought gummed up the Boeing 787 Dreamliner production. SemGroup imploded overnight from forward looking contracts. Synagro Technologies bribed Rep. John Conyers wife. LifeCare Hospitals lost 24 patients post Hurricane Katrina, a fact omitted from the Bush league Lessons Learned report. But back to Carlyle's latest investment opportunity. FT reported:

New investors accounted for 40 per cent of the fourth fund, with half of all money provided by government pension funds and financial institutions – which traditionally have allocated more capital to buy-out opportunities. There was also rising commitment from investors within Asia and from Latin America.

Pension funds need to earn back lost principal. Double down! A decoupling is coming.

Update: The Carlyle Group invested in a Chinese infant formula maker. Recall tainted formula sickened tens of thousands of Chinese babies. Carlyle will use its considerable knowledge of quality to optimize investment returns and executive pay. The product? Not so much. At least LifeCare, Vought and Synagro point to major quality problems.

Canadian Pension Buying Whole PEU Infrastructure Fund from Macquarie

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board received regulatory approval to buy Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group, which owns and operates broadcast infrastructure in Australia and Britain. Rather than spin off companies within an investment portfolio, the Australian private equity underwriter (PEU) is selling the whole fund.

The CPPIB wants more of Macquarie's infrastructure, according to the Wall Street Journal. Cash strapped states search for ways to raise revenue. Selling critical infrastructure to PEU's or pension plans is one method. Expect to hear more about it in the future.

The Obama team loves private equity underwriters. They are his prescription for the ills of banks, the tonic for toxic assets, the catalyst for education, and the resuscitation of health care.

Pension plans used to invest big money in PEU's. Now they buy a whole syndication. It's called doubling down. The odds are with GIM House. GIM stands for the Government-Industrial Monstrosity. It's Eisenhower's MIC on steroids and it infects much more than the military.

Update 11-09: CPP in two U.S. buyouts worth $11 billion

New Financial World Order Merits a Draghi

Mario Draghi, head of the Financial Stability Board, is an ex Goldman Sachs man. He now serves on the European Central Bank council and is governor of the Bank of Italy. Mario likes the world economy's "convincing signs of recovery." Bloomberg reported:

The Financial Stability Board looks at risks to financial markets and ensure that regulators in each country act upon them. Its members represent economies from Argentina to the United States and institutions such as the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Not long ago, Mario gathered with fellow members of the Bilderberg Group. Reports suggest Bilderbergers want the IMF to serve as global Treasury Department and the World Health Organization to act on global public health issues. Mario's comments support the former objective:

The FSB will “make an integrated proposal to strengthen the capital and liquidity regime by end-2009,” Draghi said, including requirements to address systemic risk.

Of course, Goldman Sachs opaque energy futures market will skate through cleanly. Private equity underwriters should avoid any serious regulatory scrutiny. The big money boys have more risk games to play.

Carlyle Group Affiliate Bribed Rep. John Conyer's Wife

Synagro Technologies gave two payments to Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers in late 2007. The company paid Mrs. Conyers for her support on a $47 million contract for sewage sludge processing and incinerator construction/operation. A court accepted Monica's guilty plea.

The Carlyle Group purchased Synagro Technologies in April 2007. They charge affiliates a management fee for their operational expertise.

(Note: Carlyle and their energy joint venture Carlyle/Riverstone paid $50 million to New York State to make a pension pay for play investigation disappear.)

Carbon Traders Set to Benefit

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have carbon trading desks and stand to benefit mightily from pending U.S. climate control legislation. These same firms have opaque energy futures desks, which transform oil & gasoline from energy products into hedging instruments.

Energy futures offer a window into carbon trading. Despite a 15 month drop in U.S. miles driven, gas prices soared to over $4 a gallon, imploded to $1.40 before rebounding to $2.50. Demand consistently dropped, while prices whip sawed in roller coaster like fashion. What Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley did for energy, they stand to do for carbon. Make yacht-loads of money.

FDIC's Promised Guidance for PEU's

When the FDIC approved the sale of BankUnited to a consortium including The Carlyle Group, it noted:

it is close to providing more guidance for how private equity firms can invest in failing banks. The government is looking for ways to better tap the $1 trillion of total uninvested private equity capital.

Five weeks later, the public remains clueless. Do the PEU boys know the new rules?

(Note: Reuters gave a July 2nd date for the FDIC to release guidance to PEU's.)