We study the performance of UK PE-backed companies during the COVID-19 pandemic using two methods: a standard difference-in-differences model where we match PE-backed firms to similar, non-PE-backed firms based on pre-pandemic ob-servable firm characteristics, and a novel synthetic...

Using fund-, firm- and bank-level data we investigate the investments of private equity (PE) funds in the north-western regions of Italy. Both the private equity fund managers and the PE investments are heavily concentrated in this most developed area of the country. The average size of the...

Private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) funding is the provision of equity capital by financial investors to non-quoted companies with high growth potential. It has a particular emphasis on entrepreneurial activities rather than on mature businesses. PE/VC investors differ on several...

This paper analyzes exit strategies of buyout funds in their portfolio companies following Initial Public Offerings. We use a data set of 222 buyout-backed IPOs in the United States between 1999 and 2008 including hand-collected data about each exit process to draw up a detailed road map of...

Detractors have warned that Private Equity (PE) funds tend to over-lever their portfolio companies because of an option-like payoff, building up default risk and debt overhang. This paper argues PE-ownership leads to substantially higher levels of optimal (value-maximizing) leverage, by reducing...

I study the history and performance of commercial real estate (CRE) in the pension fund portfolio, showing how many plan sponsors fundamentally changed their approach to CRE investment once underfunding gaps began to emerge in the early and middle 2000s. Several new empirical facts are...

We investigate the impact of the reputation of a private equity group (PEG) on financing costs in leveraged buyouts (LBOs). PEGs with a strong reputation have superior selection abilities and may be able to obtain cheaper LBO loans due to their role in limiting moral hazard or their impact on...

According to the often-cited CapCo study (2003) about hedge fund failures, 50% of the failures were driven by Operational Risk. Not only for hedge funds, but also for other asset management companies – such as private equity companies, family offices or independent asset managers - operational...

We survey more than 200 private equity (PE) managers from firms with $1.9 trillion of assets under management (AUM) about their portfolio performance, decision-making and activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that PE managers have significant incentives to maximize value, their actions...

We review the theory and evidence on venture capital (VC) and other private equity: why professional private equity exists, what private equity managers do with their portfolio companies, what returns they earn, who earns more and why, what determines the design of contracts signed between (i)...