Saban Readies German Funds; Atlanta Buyout Firm Enters L.A.

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Saban Readies German Funds; Atlanta Buyout Firm Enters L.A.

WALL STREET WEST

‘Fertile Market’

The former head of U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray’s Los Angeles investment banking office has opened an office here for Atlanta-based Dewberry Capital Corp., a real estate-oriented firm that that is looking to expand into private equity investments.

Steve Cesinger, a co-founder of L.A.-based Greif & Co., was recruited by Piper Jaffray in 2000 as it, along with other large brokerages, sought to increase its presence in the L.A. market. Since the stock market went south, many of those firms have rolled back. Piper Jaffray closed its L.A. office last year, about two months after Cesinger left.

The link-up with Dewberry is a return to roots of sorts for Cesinger, an Atlanta native who went to high school with Dewberry’s chairman, John Dewberry. Dewberry sees Los Angeles as a finance and merchant banking hub suited for its expansion into corporate acquisitions.

Cesinger said the firm, which has hewed to real estate in the Southeast, is looking to finance manufacturing, distribution or services companies in the $10 million to $100 million range. They’re also offering a niche component that includes facilities sale-leaseback arrangements.

Dewberry will consider investing $2 million to $10 million of its own capital in a single transaction. Cesinger also plans to tap his network of contacts and entrepreneurs on the West Coast to fund transactions up to $50 million and to serve as board members.

Kate Berry

Expansion Decision

Integrated Decision Systems, a Los Angeles-based software provider, received an $8.5 million dollar investment from Shelter Capital Partners, also of Los Angeles, and FTVentures in San Francisco. This was the first institutional investment raised by the company, which since 1981 has grown its client base to include many major Wall Street investment firms.

The infusion will fund Integrated Decision’s new strategy. It will shift from marketing its portfolio management and accounting system to large customers such as Chase Manhattan’s Asset Management division (part of J.P. Morgan Chase) and Prudential Financial Inc.’s Global Asset Management to renting a scaled-down version to smaller money management firms on a monthly basis.

Michael Thuresson

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