Private Equity as an Asset Class

Guy Fraser-Sampson draws upon twenty years' private equity experience to provide a practical guide to mastering the intricacies of this highly specialist asset class. Aimed equally at investors, professionals and business school students, it starts with such fundamental questions as "e;what is private equity?"e; and progresses to detailed analysis of venture and buyout returns. It also unveils a totally new concept which looks set to revolutionise thinking in the industry: Total Return investing. Often unfairly reviled, and frequently misunderstood, private equity differs from all other asset classes in various important respects, not least in the nature and timing of its returns, which require a whole new approach for those reared on more traditional investments such as bonds and shares. This book shows how a good grasp of the basic structure of private equity vehicles and returns (including the dreaded J-curve) can lead to full understanding of the techniques needed to measure and analyse performance. Key points include: A glossary of private equity terms Venture funds and transactions Buyout funds and transactions Understanding private equity returns Analysis of historic returns How to plan a fund investment programme How to conduct effective due diligence Total Return investing

Guy Fraser-Sampson draws upon twenty years' private equityexperience to provide a practical guide to mastering theintricacies of this highly specialist asset class. Aimed equally atinvestors, professionals and business school students, it startswith such fundamental questions as "what is private equity?" andprogresses to detailed analysis of venture and buyout returns. Italso unveils a totally new concept which looks set to revolutionisethinking in the industry: Total Return investing.
Often unfairly reviled, and frequently misunderstood, privateequity differs from all other asset classes in various importantrespects, not least in the nature and timing of its returns, whichrequire a whole new approach for those reared on more traditionalinvestments such as bonds and shares. This book shows how a goodgrasp of the basic structure of private equity vehicles and returns(including the dreaded J-curve) can lead to full understanding ofthe techniques needed to measure and analyse performance.

Key points include:
* A glossary of private equity terms
* Venture funds and transactions
* Buyout funds and transactions
* Understanding private equity returns
* Analysis of historic returns
* How to plan a fund investment programme
* How to conduct effective due diligence
* Total Return investing

Introduction.

Acknowledgements.

1 What is Private Equity?

Fund investing versus direct investing.

Terminology.

Primary versus secondary fund investing.

A broad delineation: buyout and venture.

Capital: allocated, committed, drawn down and invested.

How do private equity funds work?

Structure.

Cashflow.

Investment.

Fundraising.

Summary.

2 Private Equity Returns - The Basics.

Understanding the J-curve and compound returns.

Upper quartile figures.

Median returns.

Average returns.

Pooled returns.

Multiples.

Distributed over Paid In (DPI).

Paid In to Committed Capital (PICC).

Residual Value to Paid In (RVPI).

Total Value to Paid In (TVPI).

Valuation.

Fees.

Time-weighted returns.

Summary.

3 Buyout.

Types of buyout transactions.

MBO.

MBI.

BIMBO.

LBO.

Take private.

Roll-up.

Other "buyout" activity.

Established businesses.

Debt.

Earnings.

Size.

Control.

Barriers to entry.

Summary.

4 How to Analyse Buyouts.

Earnings.

EBIT.

EBITDA.

Earnings growth.

Multiple.

Multiple increase in an imperfect market.

Multiple increase in a perfect market.

Leverage.

Recapitalisation.

Timing.

Modelling and analysing buyout funds.

Summary.

5 Buyout Returns.

US versus European buyout.

Buyout skill bases.

Imperfect markets.

Earnings multiples.

Earnings growth.

Leverage.

Fund size.

What can we expect from buyout returns in future?

Recent fundraising levels.

Some conclusions and predictions.

Summary.

6 Venture Capital.

What is venture capital?

Backing new applications, not new technology.

Classification by sector.

IT.

Telecoms.

Life Science.

Classification by stage.

Seed.

The US model.

Seed stage focus.

Home run mentality.

"Value add".

The US model comes to Europe.

Why European venture capital firms have avoided the seedstage.

Classification by stage, continued.

Early stage investing.

Mid- and late stage investing.

Summary.

7 How to Analyse Venture.

The fundamentals.

Money multiples.

Valuation.

Cost and value.

IRRs and multiples.

Going In Equity (GI%).

Percentage of the holding within the fund.

The impact of home runs.

Summary.

8 Venture Returns.

US out-performance versus Europe.

Money multiples drive IRRs.

Home runs and the golden circle.

Market conditions.

European venture - is it as bad as it seems?

Returns and fund size.

Venture returns by stage.

What of the future?

Summary.

9 Due Diligence.

Buyout funds.

Venture funds.

Co-investors.

Cross-fund investing.

Buyout companies.

Venture companies.

Fund of Funds.

Monitoring private equity funds.

Summary.

10 Planning your Investment Programme.

Cashflow planning.

Allocated, committed and invested capital.

Diversification by time.

Proper commitment levels.

Diversification by sector and geography.

Total Return.

How to deal with uninvested capital.

Secondaries.

Mezzanine.

Private equity proxies 219.

Towards a new world of private equity programmes.

Summary.

Glossary.

Index.