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A Primer on Private Equity at Work

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  • Eileen Appelbaum
  • Rosemary Batt

Abstract

Targets of private equity usually have faster job growth than other companies before they are taken over. On average they also have higher rates of profitability. The claim that private equity mostly helps struggling companies is not borne out by the facts. Moreover, the investors who provide private equity firms with the capital typically make less money than if they had invested in a stock market index. Here is a much-needed primer on what private equity firms do.

Suggested Citation

  • Eileen Appelbaum & Rosemary Batt, 2012. "A Primer on Private Equity at Work," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 5-38.
  • Handle: RePEc:mes:challe:v:55:y:2012:i:5:p:5-38
    DOI: 10.2753/0577-5132550501
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steven Davis & John Haltiwanger & Ron Jarmin & Josh Lerner & Javier Miranda, 2008. "Private Equity and Employment," Working Papers 08-07r, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau, revised Oct 2011.
    2. Steven N. Kaplan & Antoinette Schoar, 2005. "Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence, and Capital Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(4), pages 1791-1823, August.
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    4. Steven Davis & John Haltiwanger & Ron Jarmin & Josh Lerner & Javier Miranda, 2008. "Private Equity and Employment," Working Papers 08-07, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau, revised Oct 2011.
    5. Ludovic Phalippou & Oliver Gottschalg, 2009. "The Performance of Private Equity Funds," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 1747-1776, April.
    6. Ulf Axelson & Tim Jenkinson & Per Strömberg & Michael S. Weisbach, 2008. "Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts: An Empirical Analysis," OFRC Working Papers Series 2008fe20, Oxford Financial Research Centre.
    7. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    8. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Stromberg, 2009. "Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(1), pages 121-146, Winter.
    9. George A. Akerlof & Paul M. Romer, 1993. "Looting: The Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 24(2), pages 1-74.
    10. Paul Thompson, 2003. "Disconnected Capitalism: Or Why Employers Can't Keep Their Side of the Bargain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 17(2), pages 359-378, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Palcic, Dónal & Reeves, Eoin, 2013. "Private equity leveraged buyouts in European telecoms: The case of Eircom," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 573-582.
    2. Loris Guery & Anne Stevenot & Geoffrey T. Wood & Chris Brewster, 2017. "The Impact of Private Equity on Employment: The Consequences of Fund Country of Origin—New Evidence from France," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 723-750, October.
    3. Edward Stringham & Jack Vogel, 2018. "The leveraged invisible hand: how private equity enhances the market for corporate control and capitalism itself," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 223-244, October.

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