MAYOR MILLER DEBATES DAVID BONDERMAN AND WINS?

David Bonderman is a founding partner of Texas Pacific, the group that has joined KKR to buy TXU. Mayor Miller is the mayor, who does not want the private equity groups to complete the deal. The two debated in Austin, and then they went at it again in LA at the Milken Institute. The Financial Times was there, and it sounds more heated than De La Hoya v. Mayweather. The FT even gave a bit of an edge to Miller:

In matters of substance, I would say that Mr Bonderman won on points. But Ms Miller and a member of the audience managed to rile him enough to concede a hostage to fortune. I concluded that the senior partners of private equity firms, who are under the spotlight around the world, still have much to learn about how to behave adroitly in public.

Still, sounds like Bonderman got in a few jabs, especially with this:

“My personal psychiatric examination suggests that Laura got into this because she was concerned about environmental issues but, having decided she does not like it, she is looking for anything that suggests it is the wrong idea.”

Zing!