A landmark study of the venture capital sector in Chile after a dozen years of successes, partial successes, and frustrating near-misses. Based on field interviews with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Detailed interviews and raw data available from the authors

The first wave of highly leveraged transactions (HLTs) also known as leveraged buyouts (LBOs) began in the late 1980s. Fewer transactions occurred in the 1990's after a number of companies in the first wave failed when the economy slowed down. More recently, the driving force behind levered...