Private equity involves investing in non-publicly traded assets like companies. Private equity funds will purchase companies, gaining access to their assets and revenue to aim for high investment returns. For example, a private equity fund may borrow $9 billion and contribute $2 billion of its own money to purchase an underperforming company for $11 billion total. After restructuring the company, it could be sold two years later for $13 billion, yielding a $2 billion profit. Private equity transactions typically involve significant debt financing used to acquire companies that generate stable cash flows, with the goal of high returns through restructuring and eventual resale.
2. Private equity is essentially a way to invest in some asset that
isn't publicly traded, or to invest in a publicly traded asset
with the intention of taking it private. Unlike stocks, mutual
funds, and bonds, private equity funds usually invest in more
illiquid assets, i.e. companies. By purchasing companies, the
firms gain access to those companies' assets and revenue
sources, which can lead to very high returns on investments.
2
3. Simple example:
A private equity fund, ABC Capital II, borrows $9bn from a bank (or other
lender). To this it adds $2bn of equity – money from its own partners and from
limited partners (pension funds, rich individuals, etc.). With this $11bn it buys
all the shares of an underperforming company, XYZ Industrial (after due
diligence, i.e. checking the books). It replaces the senior management in XYZ
Industrial, and they set out to streamline it. The workforce is reduced, some
assets are sold off, etc. The objective is to increase the value of the company for
a fast sale. The stock market is experiencing a bull market, and XYZ Industrial
is sold two years after the buy-out for $13bn, yielding a profit of $2bn. The
original loan can now be paid off with interest of say $0.5bn. The remaining
profit of $1.5bn is shared among the partners.
3
4. Private Equity
Private equity can be broadly defined to include the following different forms
of investment:
Leveraged Buyout: Leveraged buyout (LBO) refers to the purchase of all or most
of a company or a business unit by using equity(30% Approx.) from a small group of
investors in combination with a significant amount of debt(70% Approx). The
targets of LBOs are typically mature companies that generate strong operating cash
flow
Growth Capital: Growth capital typically refers to minority equity investments in
mature companies that need capital to expand or restructure operations, finance an
acquisition or enter a new market, without a change of control of the company
Mezzanine Capital: Mezzanine capital refers to an investment in smaller
company, without taking voting control of the company. allows such companies to
borrow additional capital beyond the levels that traditional lenders are willing to
provide through bank loans. In compensation for the increased risk, mezzanine debt
holders require a higher return for their investment
Venture Capital: Venture capital refers to equity investments in less mature non-public
companies to fund the launch, early development or expansion of a business
4
5. Private Equity – focus on LBO
Although private equity can be considered to include all four of these
investment activities, it is common for private equity to be the principal
descriptor for LBO activity
Private equity firms are considered “financial buyers” because they don’t bring
synergies to an acquisition, as opposed to “strategic buyers”, who are generally
competitors of a target company and will benefit from synergies when they
acquire or merge with the target
5
6. Characteristics of a Private Equity Transaction
A company or a business unit is acquired by a private equity investment fund
that has secured debt and equity funding from institutional investors such as
pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, fund of funds, sovereign
wealth funds, hedge funds and banks, or from high net worth individuals
The high debt levels utilized to fund the transaction increases the return on
equity for the private equity buyer.
If the target company is a public company, the buyout is “going private”. The newly
private company will be resold in the future (typically 3 to 7 years) through an IPO
or private sale to another company
Most private equity firms’ targeted internal rate of return (IRR) during the holding
period for their investment has historically been above 20%
6
7. Target Companies for Private
Equity Transactions
For an LBO transaction to be successful, the target company must generate a
significant amount of cash flow to pay high debt interest and principal payments
and, sometimes, pay dividends to the private equity shareholders. Here are the
main characteristics:
Motivated and competent management
Robust and stable cash flow
Low capital expenditures
Asset sales and cost cutting
Huge Potential
7