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The liquidity cost of private equity investments: Evidence from secondary market transactions

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  • Nadauld, Taylor D.
  • Sensoy, Berk A.
  • Vorkink, Keith
  • Weisbach, Michael S.

Abstract

This paper uses proprietary data from a leading intermediary to explain the magnitude and determinants of transaction costs in the secondary market for private equity stakes. Most transactions occur at a discount to net asset value. Buyers average an annualized public market equivalent of 1.023 compared with 0.976 for sellers, implying that buyers outperform sellers by a market-adjusted 5 percentage points annually. Both the cross-sectional pattern of transaction costs and the identity of sellers and buyers suggest that the market is one in which relatively flexible buyers earn returns by supplying liquidity to investors wishing to exit.

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  • Nadauld, Taylor D. & Sensoy, Berk A. & Vorkink, Keith & Weisbach, Michael S., 2019. "The liquidity cost of private equity investments: Evidence from secondary market transactions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(3), pages 158-181.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:132:y:2019:i:3:p:158-181
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.11.007
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    Cited by:

    1. Brian H. Boyer & Taylor D. Nadauld & Keith P. Vorkink & Michael S. Weisbach, 2023. "Discount‐Rate Risk in Private Equity: Evidence from Secondary Market Transactions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 78(2), pages 835-885, April.
    2. Bian, Bo & Li, Yingxiang & Nigro, Casimiro A., 2022. "Conflicting fiduciary duties and fire sales of VC-backed start-ups," LawFin Working Paper Series 35, Goethe University, Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance (LawFin).
    3. Sophie Pommet & Alexandra Rufini & Dominique Torre, 2024. "The role of lead investors in equity crowdfunding campaigns with a secondary market," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 243-273, June.
    4. Keßler, Andreas & Mählmann, Thomas, 2022. "Trading costs of private debt," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 59(PB).
    5. de Andrés, Pablo & Correia, Ricardo & Rezola, Álvaro & Suárez, Nuria, 2022. "The role of funding portals as signaling offering quality in investment crowdfunding," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    6. Anton Miglo, 2021. "STO vs. ICO: A Theory of Token Issues under Moral Hazard and Demand Uncertainty," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-35, May.
    7. Brown, Gregory & Harris, Robert & Hu, Wendy & Jenkinson, Tim & Kaplan, Steven N. & Robinson, David T., 2021. "Can investors time their exposure to private equity?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(2), pages 561-577.
    8. Cojoianu, Theodor F. & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Lin, Yanan, 2022. "Private market impact investing firms: Ownership structure and investment style," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    9. Ji Liu & Zheng Xu & Yanmei Zhang & Wei Dai & Hao Wu & Shiping Chen, 2022. "Digging into Primary Financial Market: Challenges and Opportunities of Adopting Blockchain," Papers 2204.09544, arXiv.org.
    10. Daniel Dimitrov, 2022. "Intergenerational Risk Sharing with Market Liquidity Risk," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-028/VI, Tinbergen Institute.
    11. Nicolas P. B. Bollen & Berk A. Sensoy, 2022. "How much for a haircut? Illiquidity, secondary markets, and the value of private equity," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 501-538, June.
    12. Stephen G. Dimmock & Neng Wang & Jinqiang Yang, 2019. "The Endowment Model and Modern Portfolio Theory," NBER Working Papers 25559, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Swaminathan Balasubramaniam & Armando Gomes & SangMok Lee, 2019. "Mergers and Acquisitions with Private Equity Intermediation," 2019 Meeting Papers 1121, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. Daniel R. Cavagnaro & Berk A. Sensoy & Yingdi Wang & Michael S. Weisbach, 2016. "Measuring Institutional Investors’ Skill from Their Investments in Private Equity," NBER Working Papers 22547, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Douglas Cumming & Satish Kumar & Weng Marc Lim & Nitesh Pandey, 2023. "Mapping the venture capital and private equity research: a bibliometric review and future research agenda," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 173-221, June.
    16. Lukkarinen, Anna & Schwienbacher, Armin, 2023. "Secondary market listings in equity crowdfunding: The missing link?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    17. Bo Liu & Yang Liu & Jinqiang Yang, 2018. "Optimal ownership structure in private equity," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 24(1), pages 113-135, January.
    18. Matthias Fleckenstein & Francis A. Longstaff, 2023. "Small Business Equity Returns: Empirical Evidence from the Business Credit Card Securitization Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 78(1), pages 389-425, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Private equity; Secondary market for private equity funds; Liquidity; Transaction costs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage

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