As an example of direct investments by family and private offices, an agreement involving a telecoms business and a Salt Lake City organization has been signed.

Huntsman Family Investments, a private investment office headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has entered a definitive agreement to buy telecoms services business GTA TeleGuam, for an undisclosed amount, and a sign of direct investing seen as a trend in the family office-type space.

The acquisition is from funds serviced by Advantage Partners, a Japanese private equity firm. The transaction is subject to federal and Guam regulatory approvals. It is expected to close later in 2017. 
GTA is a telecommunications operator providing wireless, high-speed internet and fixed voice services in Guam. GTA is also a part of a consortium of U.S. and Asian telecom companies that are constructing SEA-US, a new submarine cable system to connect Southeast Asia and the US via Guam.

Huntsman Family Investments recently acquired American Pacific Corporation, which supplies rocket-grade ammonium perchlorate used in rockets and missiles utilized by the Department of 
Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal counsel to Huntsman Family Investments.  Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel and Citigroup acted as financial advisor to GTA and Advantage Partners.

The pattern of family offices and similar organizations taking direct stakes in businesses was one of the topics recently discussed by industry players at a conference in New York hosted by Family Wealth Report.