Corporate network embeddedness and the success of portfolio companies: Evidence from the French private equity industry

This paper examines the role that private equity (PE) networks play in the success of PE-backed firms in France over the period 1989?2016. We make the distinction between corporate private equity (CPE) and independent private equity (IPE) firms, and we investigate whether the effect of the PE network on the success of portfolio firms varies between these two groups of investors. We show that portfolio firms backed by larger and more active PE firms are more likely to survive and make a successful exit. Further, we find that, in terms of the probability of success of their portfolio firms, French CPE firms do not systematically differ from their IPE counterparts. The network position of the investor matters?more central PE firms are more likely to bring their portfolio firms to a successful exit. However, our results also suggest that CPE and IPE firms may differ in terms of the effect of the firm?s network position: being close to other investors is important for CPE firms but not for IPE firms.