How do private equity (PE) investors affect firms' borrowing constraints, debt structure, and leverage dynamics? In this paper, we examine this central question by analyzing a large and novel database of PE-backed, bank-reliant, small and middle market firms in the U.S. using administrative...

Private equity owned firms have more leverage, more intense compensation contracts, and higher productivity than comparable firms. We develop a theory of buyouts in oligopolistic markets that explains these facts. Private equity firms are more aggressive in inducing restructuring compared to...

We characterize when private equity funds have a competitive advantage over strategic buyers in acquiring a target firm. Private equity funds are more inclined to cut loss-making projects, thereby gaining an information advantage for understanding value creation with the target's remaining...

In this paper I test the proposition put forward by private equity players that they undertake “governance arbitrage”. This proposition suggests that public companies with weak governance are more likely to receive a buyout bid from a private equity (PE) firm.I find evidence that companies...

We examine the performance of 2,790 private equity (PE) funds incepted during 1979-2008 using Stochastic Discount Factors (SDFs) implied by the two leading consumption-based asset pricing models (CBAPMs) — external habit and long-run risks — as their assumptions appear consistent with...

This paper attempts to assist fellow leveraged buyout researchers understand nuanced details of corporate finance and leveraged buyouts, in particular. Given Haque, Jang, and Mayer (2022) is produced by esteemed colleagues at prestigious intuitions (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve...

Over the period 1980-2007 multinational firms' investment grew four times faster than worldwide GDP. Yet the evidence on whether global diversification is valuable is inconclusive. This paper uses detailed FDI data for 251 UK multinational firms and 4,676 subsidiaries to show that multinational...

This paper presents evidence that subsidiaries of multinational firms have higher valuations than locally matched firms. Using a unique sample of 251 UK multinational firms and 4,676 subsidiaries, the paper finds that multinational firms achieve, on average, an international diversification...