Ratio Analysis
Financing Change
PRIVATE EQUITY DEMYSTIFIED An explanatory guide
John Gilligan and Mike Wright
Financing Change
An initiative from the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty
This is the first report to be published under Financing Change, the thought leadership programme of the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty. The faculty is the world’s largest network of professionals involved in corporate finance and counts accountants, lawyers, bankers, other practitioners and people in business among its members. Financing Change aims to advance the economic and social contribution of corporate finance activity by promoting better understanding and practice. Once a niche market for finance, private equity today competes with the public markets as a provider of equity capital, and is the owner of many large companies which are household names and major employers. Private equity has been the subject of public debate in many jurisdictions and a number of common public policy challenges have arisen. If future private equity deals are to achieve their full economic potential and avoid being constrained unnecessarily by legislators and regulators, it is important that dealmakers continue to have regard to the context in which private equity transactions take place, and that greater effort is made to provide all stakeholders with clear, transparent and objective information. Private equity demystified – An explanatory guide was commissioned to shed light on the motivations of the main participants in private equity transactions and on their risks and rewards. It deals with issues of international relevance, using UK-specific examples to illustrate operating models, remuneration practices, employment regulations and taxation policy. The report also includes a review of academic studies on private equity transactions from around the world. The findings from these studies, which are woven into the analysis, show not only what we currently know about the impact of private equity on the
PRIVATE EQUITY DEMYSTIFIED An explanatory guide
John Gilligan and Mike Wright
Financing Change
An initiative from the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty
This is the first report to be published under Financing Change, the thought leadership programme of the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty. The faculty is the world’s largest network of professionals involved in corporate finance and counts accountants, lawyers, bankers, other practitioners and people in business among its members. Financing Change aims to advance the economic and social contribution of corporate finance activity by promoting better understanding and practice. Once a niche market for finance, private equity today competes with the public markets as a provider of equity capital, and is the owner of many large companies which are household names and major employers. Private equity has been the subject of public debate in many jurisdictions and a number of common public policy challenges have arisen. If future private equity deals are to achieve their full economic potential and avoid being constrained unnecessarily by legislators and regulators, it is important that dealmakers continue to have regard to the context in which private equity transactions take place, and that greater effort is made to provide all stakeholders with clear, transparent and objective information. Private equity demystified – An explanatory guide was commissioned to shed light on the motivations of the main participants in private equity transactions and on their risks and rewards. It deals with issues of international relevance, using UK-specific examples to illustrate operating models, remuneration practices, employment regulations and taxation policy. The report also includes a review of academic studies on private equity transactions from around the world. The findings from these studies, which are woven into the analysis, show not only what we currently know about the impact of private equity on the