Madison Dearborn, whose chief executive, John Canning Jr., stepped down in November, has struggled with deals, including Yankee Candle Co. and Nuveen Investments Inc. And Pierre Foods Inc., a Cincinnati-based supplier of cooked meats and ready-to-eat sandwiches, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday. Madison Dearborn invested $142 million in equity when it bought Pierre in 2004.
"We continue to fundraise and maintain an active, productive dialogue with our current and prospective limited partner investors," Madison Dearborn spokesman Chuck Dohrenwend said. "We are not able to comment on specific aspects of the fundraising process."
A U.S. economy on the brink of recession is hurting profits and making it harder for leveraged buyout companies to pay down the debt.