SDC VentureXpert & private equity portfolios

When you are interested in finding out what the composition is of the portfolio's of private equity funds in specific nations the SDC database VentureXpert is a good starting point. For example: when I am interested in Dutch private equity funds involved in buyout related deals doing a search is easy:

1. Start up SDC Platinum and go to the database using the tab VentureXpert
2. Mark the part database Funds and click the OK button to go to the database.
   
   
   
3. Choose: Navigation Menu > Search Menu. Click OK.
4. Select the time period you are interested in and click OK to continue.
5. Use the tab "Investment Type" to select all Buyout Related deals.
6. Go to the tab "Fund/Firm" and use the variable/option Fund Nation (double-click to select it)
7. Type in Netherlands and double-click to select this nation. Click OK to continue.
   
   
   
8. Close the Search screen and use the button "Execute" at the top of your screen (to the right) to find these funds.
9. Create a custom report using the menu option at the top of the screen: Report > New Custom
10. From the items screen search and select the following variables:
    - Fund Name = Naam of the fund that is managed
    - Fund Portfolio Cos Name = Overview of the Current companies in the portfolio
    - Fund's Mgmt Firm: Name = Firm that manages the portfolio
    - Mgmt Firm's Fund List = Names of the funds that are managed by the firm.
11. When you are done, close the Items screen and save the report under an easily recognizable name
12. Use the button "Execute" at the top of your screen (to the right) to view the new report. (If a message pops up on the size of the report just click NO to NOT return to design mode).
13. At the top left corner in the menu you find the option to save/export the list of Funds: Document > Export/Save as.

Important tip: if you are interested in finding out more information on the companies in the portfolio's of the funds you can add the following two variables to make it easier to find out more:

• Fund Portfolio Cos: 6-digit Cusip = Cusip identification code for the companies in the portfolio
• Fund Portfolio Cos: Ticker = Ticker code for the companies in the portfolio

Using these codes it may be easier to get more information on the companies from other databases in SDC Platinum, or databases like Datastream or Compustat. For a short overview of options you can check out an earlier blog item on databases and company identifiers. If you are going to use Cusip codes to look up more data be sure to save the report in SDC as a text file. If you save the report to excel you may lose zero's or other characters of the Cusip codes due to the automatic formatting Excel applies. Searching for additional information using "formatted" Cusip codes may cause problems. After saving the report as a text file you can always open it later in Excel or other programs. Using Excel you can use the text wizard to get the data in the correct columns again. Just make sure to import everything as Text!

Author information: LinkedIn

11:32 AM - 2 September 2010

Dutch companies in LexisNexis

Many Dutch organisations are registered at the Dutch chamber of commerce (Kamer van Koophandel). When a company is registered there it gets a unique company number called the KVK number. This number can be used to quickly search and get company reports from LexisNexis. The KVK number is made up of the main number of 8 digits and 1 or more Sub numbers if the company is located and active in more locations. The sub number is always four digits long.

Example:
The head office of the company Rabobank Nederland has the number 30046259 with the sub number 0000. Each additional location where the company is active has a different sub number: 001, 002, 003 etc. Be aware, however, that a daughter or affiliated company may also have it's own specific 8 digit KVK number!

The Dutch company reports in LexisNexis include the KVK number and this makes it possible to look up specific companies at specific locations. The number in a report is in a specific field and it looks like HANDELSREG: 30046259-0000.

By doing a simple search on the complete KVK number 30046259-0000 I get just one report on the main company Rabobank Nederland (Also called: Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen Boerenleenbank BA).

By limiting the search to just the first 8 digits I may even get additional reports on daughter companies as well as reports on current managers and directors and possibly also reports on Merger and Acquisition activities. A good small example of this is a search on the company Koninklijke Brill NV using KVK number 28000012.

Author information: LinkedIn

10:25 AM - 26 August 2010

BVD ID Numbers and Dutch companies

Amadeus has several options to look for companies using unique identification numbers. One of these identification numbers is the BVD Id nr. = Bureau van Dijk ID number. For Dutch companies this ID code consists of the nation code NL and the chamber of commerce (Kamer van Koophandel) identification number. The unique code KVK number can be found in annual reports, company websites as well as through the KVK register on the website of the chamber of commerce.

Each KVK number of Dutch companies consists of two parts: the main 8 digit number and the 4 digit sub number. If the sub number is four zeros that means that this concerns the main company. The KVK number for Unilever NV is: 24051830. The Bureau Van Dijk ID Number is therefore: NL240518300000. A list of BVD ID numbers can easily be created in Excel and can be uploaded in BVD databases like Amadeus or REACH. Examples:

11:42 PM - 10 August 2010

Abnormal return formula for Datastream

The abnormal return is a term used to describe the returns generated by a given security or portfolio over a period of time that is different from the expected rate of return. The rate of return for equities is usually estimated by analysists based on asset pricing models, using a long run historical average or multiple valuation. Abnormal returns can be caused by events like mergers or earnings announcements.

According to the Thomson Financial helpdesk the formula for downloading the abnormal return in Datastream is as follows:

REGR#(PCH#(X(LI),1D),PCH#(X*1.0000000,1D))

Using the Excel Datastream AFO (macro/add-inn) you can look up the equities and in the field/box for the Data Type you can copy this formula to download the abnormal return for the selected equities. In the formula X stands for one or more equities (depends on your selection).

The LI stands for the comparison Local Market Index. If you want to know which Local Market Index is used for each stock/equity, you can do a static request for these equities using the data type LI#MNEM or LI#NAME.

Investopdia definition: Abnormal Return

Wikipedia website: Abnormal Return

Background Information: On Financial Databases Blog

Author information: LinkedIn

12:51 AM - 5 August 2010

Equities and BETA formulas

Using Datastream you can calculate and download the BETA for 1 or more equities using a formula that looks like: REGB#(LN#(X/LAG#(X,1M)),LN#(Y/LAG#(Y,1M)),60M).

This is an example of the BETA formula which I mentioned in an earlier post.

It kan be difficult to look up the BETA for several equities using this formula if you want to do this for many equities. In Excel, however, it is easy to generate the correct formula for each equity (+ market) using the Concatenate function. You can see how I did this in a short movie here:

When you have the necessary formulas for the equities you can search and download the BETA in one go using the Request Table search tool which Datastream has (see the AFO in Excel). Just remember that you can copy the formulas in the column for the equities and you can leave the Data type Column empty.

Author information: LinkedIn

01:03 AM - 6 July 2010