BUYOUTS-Hellman & Friedman targets $8.9 bln for Fund VIII

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters-BUYOUTS) - Hellman & Friedman is seeking a comparable fund size to its flagship vehicle of nearly $9 billion raised in the midst of the financial crisis, in the buyout firm's first major capital-raising effort since the death of co-founder Warren Hellman in 2011.