N&Q: New family office launched; family investor makes a nice return; debt and Indian family businesses

Big construction family sets up an investment office

The Walsh family, who own one of Midwest America’s biggest construction groups, the Walsh Group, has set up a family office, according to a media report. The new office, called Creek Lane Capital, plans to invest mainly in real estate assets and has just acquired a $70 million apartment project. Creek Lane has hired a group of investment specialists, including its new CEO Kevin Mulhall, a property investment specialist, who joins from the real estate private equity group, Walton Street Capital.

IPO debut realises nice paper profit for family investment group

Ferd, the family investment group of Norwegian Johan Andresen and his family, has realised a nice profit from a stake in a clothes e-tailer called Boozt, which has just done an initial public offering on Nasdaq Stockholm. The stock traded at a 25% premium when it listed earlier this week. Prior to the IPO process, Ferd guaranteed it would subscribe to SEK 200 million ($23 million) worth of stock in the group. “As a result of this investment commitment Ferd now has a 5.8% ownership interest in the company. This is the first time Ferd has participated as a cornerstone investor in an IPO,” according to the group’s press release.

India’s big family businesses bogged down with debt

Whoever said family businesses don’t like debt should take a close look at many of India’s biggest family-owned conglomerates. That’s because some of the biggest names in the sector are offloading assets to pay off crippling debts, according to The Hindu. Family owned groups like  Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group and Shashi and Ravi Ruia’s Essar Group are in a rush to sell off assets to offload debt, the article said.