Ken Tarbous

Ridgemont Equity Partners, a Charlotte financial sponsor, has been an active buyer this summer of companies worth $10 million to $100 million, and it has plenty of company.

In his personal and professional lives, Hugh S. "Beau" Cummins III, the head of SunTrust's investment bank, is a risk-taker.

KBW's managers say they see an opportunity, essentially, to take over serving banks, insurers and other financial firms in China, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia and the rest of Asia.

Dealmakers expect the pace of secondary equity offerings to quicken in coming quarters after a slow start in the first two months of the year, and a wider variety of industries probably will raise money through follow-on offerings.