RAISING EQUITY: The investment exploits of U2's Bono, centre, could be upstaged by the Africa-focused fund of fellow rocker Bob Geldof Picture: REUTERS

First U2’s Bono became a partner in media investor Elevation Partners. Now Bob Geldof is looking to raise $1-billion for an African private equity fund called 8 Miles – the distance between the southern tip of Europe and northern Africa.

Since organising the Live Aid concert in the mid-’80s, Geldof has campaigned for aid and debt forgiveness for African nations. His political contacts might help open commercial doors.

Africa has consistently defied investment optimists. But there are now some encouraging signs. Real gross domestic product rose 4.9% per year from 2000 through 2008, twice its pace in the 1980s and 1990s, said McKinsey Global.

Geldof’s is not the only fund looking to take advantage of Africa’s economic development. But it will be one of the biggest and best connected.

The 8 Miles fund will be run by Mark Florman, a former executive at private equity firm Doughty Hanson, and Gordon Moore, who worked at Cinven.

The African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private sector arm, will both invest $50-million in the venture. Geldof has committed an undisclosed amount of his own money.

http://www.timeslive.co.za

July 6, 6:38

Jill Marino

The $311 Million Men, according to “Forbes” magazine.

Even though they had to postpone an entire tour leg for 2010, last year’s epic run of “360” helped elevate U2 to the number seven spot on “The Celebrity 100” list in “Forbes” magazine.

The tour raked in over $311 million “in gross box office receipts”, with $10 million in ticket sales coming in from each concert. The article also states that with U2’s back catalog as well as radio play and merchandise, it makes them the obvious choice as “the highest-earning band on the planet.”

U2’s pal Bruce Springsteen also made the list, checking in at number 17. Rounding out the top five are Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, James Cameron, Lady Gaga, and Tiger Woods.

It’s always funny when you read lists like these and how much all of these celebrities end up banking. I look at the $10 million in ticket sales from “360” last year and because I went to three shows, I automatically think, “Wow, a lot of my paycheck from work is in that number!” Then you factor in the entire $311 million, and it’s mind-boggling. During the 2009 leg, I bought two shirts and a program. When I renewed my fan club membership, I received a coupon for the web store. So I used it on another “360” shirt I didn’t have. And then there’s the “360″ DVD to buy. All of it adds up in the end!

With North America postponed, Europe still on, and Australia this winter rumored, I wonder how U2 will rank on next year’s list?

http://www.examiner.com

By Caitlin McBride

Wednesday June 30 2010

Fancy living like a rock star? The Edge is allowing fans to do just that — but it comes with a hefty price tag.

The U2 guitarist has put his plush €15m yacht on the rental market, and anyone can use its extensive facilities — if they can afford the charter fee of €165,000 a week.

Renters will be charged the staggering fee to use the yacht’s opulent facilities, which feature an extensive lounge and dining area, marble-tiled bathrooms and a massive master bedroom.

The Edge and his wife Morleigh Steinberg bought the luxury Cyan two years ago, however, the rocker has since allowed renters to use it during his touring days with the band.

With space to sleep 10 guests, every nook and cranny has been crafted by Steinberg to give the most luxurious offerings possible, including an on-deck jacuzzi, a state-of-the-art music system, a swimming platform and a luxury bar.

The Edge, aka David Evans, revealed that when he bought the yacht two years ago it fulfilled a lifelong dream.

Dream

“For years it was a dream of mine to own a yacht, but to be honest, it was a bit out of my league. So myself and a few friends got together, chipped in, and bought the Cyan,” he said.

Cyan is currently berthed in the south of France, where his wife spent several months of 2008 overseeing a complete redesign of the 13-year-old boat, and our pictures show that no expense was spared to make it the ultimate in luxury travel.

Since the band’s tour schedule came to a halt when Bono was forced to undergo emergency surgery in Germany last month, fans are hopeful that the Cyan’s availability for charter means they will be touring again sooner rather than later.

Doctors say that the prognosis for a full recovery is “excellent” and that he should be ready to hit the stage again after at least two months of intense rehabilitation.

The Edge said his bandmate will be following “doctor’s orders” as he rests up.

If all goes well, U2 plans to begin rehearsals in August before relaunching their tour and will also put the finishing touches to their next album.

hnews@herald.ie

- Caitlin McBride

http://www.herald.ie

John Shmuel, Financial Post · Tuesday, Jun. 29, 2010

Bono might not be the shrewdest of investors if the track record of Elevation Partners, a private-equity firm he helped found, is taken into consideration. But the company seems to have gotten some good value out of its latest investment in Facebook.

According to Techcrunch, Elevation Partners has quietly acquired five million shares in the social networking company for US$120 million. That adds to the firm’s stable of 2.5 million shares bought back in November for US$90-million.

The new investment means Elevation paid US$24 a share this time around, as opposed to the US$36 a share the firm paid in November.

Combined, Elevation’s 7.5 million shares were purchased at a US$14-billion valuation — which is a fairly profitable investment for Elevation, considering Facebook is trading at upwards of US$24-billion on the secondary market today, according to Techcrunch.

The investment also demonstrates Facebook is doing just fine raising capital. That kind of cash flow from the secondary market means an IPO might not be an imminent prospect for the Californiabased company.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has also hinted that revenue for this year could top $1 billion in an interview earlier this month.

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/

http://www.financialpost.com/news/Facebook+investment+providing+good+value+frontman+company/3213527/story.html#ixzz0sHHbU2wV

* JUNE 25, 2010, 9:00 A.M. ET

By Laura Kreutzer and Daniel Hausmann Of DOW JONES LBO WIRE

The clock is ticking for Elevation Partners LLC’s debut fund, but the media and entertainment buyout firm is hoping for a reprieve.

Elevation, a high-profile firm co-founded by Roger McNamee and U2’s Bono, among others, has asked its backers for a one-year extension on the investment period of Elevation Partners LP, a $1.9 billion debut fund raised in 2005, LBO Wire has learned.

The debut fund’s investment period ends this August, but the Menlo Park,Calif., firm still has about $200 million in capital to deploy, several of Elevation’s investors said.

At press time, Managing Director Kevin Albert, Elevation’s head of investor relations, couldn’t be reached for comment.

The firm wants its limited partners to sign off on the extension by mid-July and has proposed some concessions on management fees in exchange for the additional time, these LPs said. They wouldn’t provide specifics on the proposed concessions.

Backers of the fund include Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund, Oregon State Treasury, South Dakota Investment Council, Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois and Washington State Investment Board.

Two LPs would not discuss whether they favored an extension. A third backer said he believes the firm will be able to garner the support needed. Another person said the fund’s LP advisory board supports the extension.

The extension is expected to push out fund-raising plans for Elevation’s next offering, one LP said. The debut fund’s current performance would likely make raising a new fund a tough slog at the moment.

As of March 31, 2010, the fund was producing a negative 10% net internal rate of return, according to performance data from Oregon State Treasury. However, that figure doesn’t include results from the sale of Palm Inc. (PALM), in which Elevation had about a 30% stake.

The sale of Palm to Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) stands to bring Elevation less than $30 million in profits, hardly a home run but not the massive loss that some industry observers had predicted.

Other companies in the firm’s debut fund include Forbes Media LLC, publisher of Forbes magazine; market analytics firm MarketShare Partners; and online review site Yelp. Elevation also holds a 1% stake in social networking company Facebook that it purchased on the secondary market in November 2009.

Elevation has also laid off fewer than 10 staffers, largely in back-office administrative support roles, a person familiar with the firm confirmed. News of the layoffs was previously reported by Fortune.

The layoffs are largely related to the exit of Palm. The firm had committed a half dozen people, including senior partners, to the restructuring effort at Palm, this person said. Additionally, Principal Patty Wexler, with Elevation since it started in 2005, has decided to leave the firm, according to the person.

Elevation has also added two added two senior level investors, managing directors Avadis “Avie” Tevanian and Rajiv Dutta, in recent months.

(Dow Jones LBO Wire covers news about private equity.)

-By Laura Kreutzer and Daniel Hausmann; Dow Jones LBO Wire; laura.kreutzer@dowjones.com

http://online.wsj.com

By DARA KELLY

Published Thursday, June 24, 2010

Well this is a family discussion that’s been coming for a long time. U2, the Irish supergroup, are being blasted as sell-outs who have turned their back on their fans and their nation for moving all their key assets offshore to escape Irish taxes.

The bands tax moves comes at a time when Ireland desperately needs the revenue. In recent weeks the band has been subjected to one furious attack after another in the press.

The Irish Independent newspaper commissioned a poll showing that 84 per cent of U2’s fellow countrymen think the band’s business operations should be based and taxed in Ireland.?

An editorial in the same newspaper said Bono was in danger of ruining his and the band’s reputation. ‘If they don’t act now,’ the paper said, ‘it could be the biggest PR disaster of their career.’? ?’It’s a sticky one for U2. Essentially this is not the most comfortable time to be rich in Ireland. And it seems they know it.’

Manager Paul McGuinness has defended the offshore move as smart business strategy for a band that earns 95 per cent of its income outside Ireland in any case.

But Irish newspaper commentators have denounced the bands moves as exactly the sort of tax dodge multinational corporations engage in to increase their profits at the expense of Third World nations where they conduct business.

http://www.irishcentral.com

U2's Bono has had emergency surgery (Photo: AP)

He was admitted to hospital suffering from partial paralysis and is said to be “heartbroken” about the tour.

A source told The Sun: “Bono and the band are covered by insurance but the cost of overheads and missed revenue could easily reach £100 million by the time he’s fit enough to perform again.”

Their manager Paul McGuinness added that the tour was on hold but still cost the group half a million pounds a day.

He said: “If we play or not, touring still costs us £500,000 a day.”

http://www.metro.co.uk

U2 frontman Bono is set to book a loss of $140m (£92m) after Palm announced a $1.2bn deal to sell itself to personal computer giant Hewlett-Packard.

By James Quinn, US Business Editor
Published: 11:13PM BST 28 Apr 2010

The new Palm Pre smartphone was introduced in the US in June, 2009, in an attempt to take market share from Apple's iPhone.

Bono’s private equity venture, Elevation Partners, owns an approximate 30pc stake in Palm, having invested $460m in the struggling handset maker in 2007 and 2008. The H-P deal values Palm’s equity at $961m – the rest of the deal price is debt – meaning Elevation’s stake will be worth roughly $320m.

Palm, which began life in 1992 as one of the companies at the forefront of the personal digital assistant (PDA), has struggled of late as a result of lagging sales and increasing marketing costs, downgrading sales estimates for the current quarter by more than half in March.

Palm put itself up for sale earlier this month, amid speculation of offers from Lenovo of China and HTC of Taiwan.

But H-P said late on Wednesday it has reached an agreement to buy Palm, as part of a concerted attempt by the world’s largest computer maker to make its presence felt in the smart phone market.

The all-cash deal values Palm’s shares at $5.70 each, a 23pc premium to last night’s closing price of $4.63, although considerably lower than the $18.09 it reached last year following the release of its Palm Pre handset.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

The Irish band and their manager have a combined wealth estimated at £429m

U2 and their manager Paul McGuinness top the Irish Sunday Times Music Millionaires Rich List.

Their combined wealth is estimated at £429m, a rise of 1% on 2009.

In second place is Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley, with his total wealth calculated at £241m.

The paper said his fortunes have dipped by 2% in the past year because of a fall in the value of the The Lord of the Dance brand.

Dublin-based singer Enya is third in the list, with a fortune believed to be, £85m.

All three retain the same top three positions from the 2009 list.

Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison is fourth with his wealth listed at £50m.

Newcomers to the list of Ireland’s 250 richest people are the four members of the band Westlife – Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne, who debut with a combined fortune estimated at £31m.

They share fifth place with Chris de Burgh.

Singer Katie Melua, who spent part of her childhood in Northern Ireland has seen no change in her fortune which remains at £10m.

Londonderry born Nadine Coyle, who found fame with Girls Aloud makes it onto the paper’s list of young music millionaires with a fortune believed to be, £5m.

The 22nd annual Sunday Times Rich List is published in a special 104-page supplement on Sunday.

It profiles the 1,000 richest people and families in the UK and the wealthiest 250 in Ireland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk

Susan Boyle

Irish show biz accountant, Ossie Kilkenny, has rejected all claims in the press that his advice is ‘harmful’ to Susan Boyle’s growing fortune.

He says that he only has her best interests at heart. The financial guru, known as “U2’s accountant”, said that he will take action
against the claims that he is giving bad advice to troubled star Susan Boyle.

He also said that he is “100 percent working with Susan Boyle,” and intends on sticking with her and helping her steer her career.

And what a career it is turning out to be. Boyle has been tipped by industry insiders to earn over $29.5 million. She’s also due to receive another large cheque, of $7.4 million, due to the royalties from her current album.

Her current album, “I Dreamed a Dream”, has sold over 8.5 million copies worldwide while her world famous performance has broken records on YouTube with over 32 million viewers.

A source close to Kilkenny said “He came out of retirement to help Susan because he saw her as someone who triumphed over adversity and he made it his mission to help her become the greatest success she could.

“He is not paying any attention to the nonsense in the papers, except to take the appropriate action, and remains focused on Susan’s singing.”

http://www.irishcentral.com

Bono (Getty Images)

The world’s biggest concert promoter has announced plans to set up shop in Australia.

Live Nation – whose personal client list includes little known acts such as U2, The Rolling Stones, Madonna and Nickelback – is set to open up its own offices in Melbourne.

More than just a traditional concert promoter, Live Nation has struck some of the biggest music deals of recent times.

In 2008, it signed a 12-year deal with U2 – rumoured to be worth well over $100 million – which saw Live Nation become the band’s exclusive international tour promoter.

This all means that Live Nation should now be the direct promoter of U2’s next Australian tour – whenever the hell that might be! – rather than licensing the act out to a local promoter.

What effect will this have on local concerts and ticket prices? It’s impossible to say, but there are many very vocal critics in other countries that say Live Nation – who this year merged with Ticketmaster – run their international tour business like a monopoly.

According to the company’s own stats, Live Nation in 2009 promoted 21,000 concerts around the world, selling 140 million tickets.

http://www.triplem.com.au

U2’s Bono looks set to collect a multi-million pound windfall from the sale of Palm, the beleaguered smartphone maker.

By Rupert Neate and Claudine Beaumont
Published: 1:03PM BST 12 Apr 2010

U2's Bono set for multi-million pound Palm windfall Photo: AP

Bono’s private equity company Elevation Partners is a major shareholder in Palm, which has put itself up for sale.

Elevation bought a further $100m (£64.8m) Palm shares at $3.24 a share in December 2008 to take its stake to 41pc. Palm, which saw its shares jumped 32pc to $5.16 last week, is reportedly seeking bids for the company.

Rival phone makers HTC and Lenovo are said to have already made offers for Palm, which recently sought to revitalise its fortunes with the launch of the Pre and Pixi range of high-end smartphones based on the WebOS operating system.

While the handsets have received critical acclaim, sales of the devices have been disappointing, and the value of the company has plunged, with Palm posting 11 straight quarterly losses.

“Palm still has quite a good brand in the US market and some strong technology,” Frank He, an analyst with BOC International Holdings told Bloomberg. “You can do something with it. The share have gone down a lot and the company may become attractive to anyone looking for a turnaround play.”

Both Palm and Goldman Sachs have declined to comment on the reports.

Palm, which made its name making personal digital assistants in the 1990s, had hoped the launch of the Pre would reinvigorate the company. The device, which used the innovative WebOS operating system to enable users to send emails, surf the internet and use dozens of applications at the same time, was touted as an iPhone killer. But the critical acclaim did not translate in to solid sales, and Palm is currently ranked sixth in the US smartphone market, behind rivals such as Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, and Apple.

Elevation bought a 25pc stake in the company for $325m in 2007 and has installed Jonathan Rubinstien, a former head of Apple’s iPhone division, as chairman.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk