We study the performance of nearly 1400 U.S. buyout and venture capital funds using a new dataset from Burgiss. We find better buyout fund performance than has previously been documented – performance consistently has exceeded that of public markets. Outperformance versus the S&P 500 averages...

We present evidence on the performance of nearly 1400 U.S. private equity (buyout and venture capital) funds using a new research-quality dataset from Burgiss, sourced from over 200 institutional investors. Using detailed cash-flow data, we compare buyout and venture capital returns to the...

This technical note compares two methods of treating debt usage in discounted-cash-flow valuation of investment projects or companies. The note illustrates that the Weighted Average Cost of Capital approach (WACC) and the Equity Residual approach (ER) yield equivalent results if consistent...

Private equity performance, both for buyouts and venture capital, has been highly cyclical: periods of high fundraising have been followed by periods of low performance. Despite this seemingly predictable variation, we find modest gains, at best, to pursuing realistic, investable strategies that...

This paper provides a first look at newly available data on the holdings of private equity (PE) funds. Because research has been hampered by the lack of comprehensive, high-quality data on portfolio companies, this new source offers the potential for a wide range of research. Provided by...

This note links pro forma forecasting of financial statements with project valuation of cash flows. Students are shown the link among income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows. The exercise affords practice in forecasting and project analysis, including effects of inflation, changes in...

This paper investigates the effects of corporate taxation on foreign direct investment by examining tax differentials between U.S. and foreign buyers of U.S. firms. Unlike prior literature, the paper simultaneously considers tax codes in both the U.S. and foreign countries as well as tax...

This paper focuses on funds of funds (FOFs) as a form of financial intermediation in private equity (both buyout and venture capital). After accounting for fees, FOFs provide returns equal to or above public market indices for both buyout and venture capital. While FOFs focusing on buyouts...

This paper examines means of payment in over 2,500 acquisitions in the UK and US over the period 1955 to 1985. Data on financing proportions, bid premia and postmerger performance are used to test the validity of tax and information hypotheses. It is difficult to explain many of the results in...