Larry Schloss, expert on private equity deals and Tulane alumnus who has climbed Mt. Everest, will speak Thursday (March 15) at Goldring/Woldenberg Hall II.

Casino giant Harrah's Entertainment and healthcare industry leader HCA are just two examples of companies that were targets of billion-dollar buyouts in 2006 by private equity firms. Buyout firms had an extraordinary year in 2006, with private equity deal volume growing to $375.6 billion.

Now the Tulane University community has a chance to learn more about private equity deals and how they work from one of the leaders in the industry -- Tulane alumnus Larry Schloss.

He will speak on the uptown campus on Thursday (March 15) at 5:15 p.m. in the Seinsheimer Lecture Theater on the 1st floor of Goldring/Woldenberg Hall II.

Private equity is a broad term that refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradable on a public stock market. Categories of private equity investment include leveraged buyouts, venture capital, growth capital and others.

Private equity buyers in particular use borrowed funds to finance their deals, then usually overhaul the business and try to sell to another corporate buyer or investor group -- or take it public.

Schloss is no stranger to the topic. In 2004, he and four partners started Diamond Castle Holdings to focus on leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations in media, healthcare, financial services, power and industrial sectors.

In mid-December, the New York Times reported that Schloss' company raised $1.825 billion for its first fund, Diamond Castle Partners IV, with plans to buy at least six companies. Prior to the venture, Schloss was the global head of Credit Suisse's private equity business. He started out as an investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette where he eventually helped found the investment bank's private equity shop.

Schloss has ties to the Tulane community. He graduated in 1976 in economics from the Tulane College of Arts & Sciences before receiving his MBA in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also chairs the President's Council at Tulane.