信贷是私募股权投资的助推剂。借助信贷，私募股权公司往往只需拿出收购价30%或40%的资金。并且，信贷条款越好，私募股权公司受益越多。

    因此，人们会认为，如今接近于零的超低利率对私募股权行业来说是个福音，但黑石集团（Blackstone Group）总裁托尼•詹姆斯则认为，这种想法可能有点过了。

    詹姆斯在上周四上午的媒体电话会议上谈及该公司第四季度收益时称，现在信贷市场火热，但这对该公司的投资业务来说弊大于利。

    首先，对于陷入困境的公司来说，如果信贷容易获得，他们更可能会选择再融资，而不是出售资产。这样就导致可供投资的标的量下降，从而（至少在理论上）使得可供出售的标的公司售价上涨。

    更为重要的是，低利率信贷环境一直在推高市场价格。而詹姆斯担心这种趋势将持续下去，因为更多的资金将会入场，投资于股权（因为债券收益率较低）。

    高利率可以使这个问题迎刃而解，但詹姆斯认为短期内央行不可能加息。

    詹姆斯同时表示，戴尔（Dell）被收购的传闻对于目前的股权交易市场没有太大的影响，不会因此涌现大中型收购标的。他认为，过去没有人质疑大宗收购交易的信贷可获得性，而这笔交易的股权要求非同寻常，因为这家公司的创始人迈克尔•戴尔持有大量股权。詹姆斯说，唯一可能产生的影响是，它可能会导致私募股权投资公司更加努力地在成熟的科技公司中寻找目标。（财富中文网）

    译者：默默

    Credit is the fuel of private equity, often allowing buyout firms to contribute just 30% or 40% of acquisition prices. And the better the credit terms, the more private equity firms stand to gain.

    So one would think today's near-zero interest rates are a boon for the industry, but The Blackstone Group's (BX) Tony James thinks the pendulum may have swung too far.

    Speaking this morning on a media call to discuss the firm's Q4 earnings, James said that "the hot credit markets are more of a negative" for the firm's investing business.

    First, easy credit makes it more likely that troubled companies will refinance, rather than sell. That lowers the overall deal supply, which can (at least theoretically) drive up prices of what remains.

    More importantly, the low credit environment has been driving up prices. And James fears the trend will continue, as more money comes off the sidelines and moves into equities (since there isn't enough yield in debt).

    All of this could be "cured" by higher rates but James doesn't see that coming anytime soon.

    James also said that the rumored Dell (DELL) buyout is not having much impact on current deal-flow, in terms of bringing larger targets to the fore. Nobody was doubting the credit availability for large deals, he argued, and the deal's equity requirements are unusual in that so much of it is held by founder Michael Dell. The only possible consequence, James says, is that it could cause private equity firms to look harder at mature technology companies.