Mastering Private Equity

Claudia Zeisberger, Michael Prahl, Bowen White

"The definitive guide to private equity for investors, finance professionals, managers and business owners. Mastering Private Equity: Growth via Venture Capital, Minority Investments & Buyouts presents a valuable on-demand tool and unique handbook for investors, finance professionals, managers and business owners looking to engage with private equity or venture firms. The book distills the essence of private equity into core concepts ranging from fundraising over investment process execution to institutional investors building and managing a private equity fund portfolio, always referring to standard market practice across all steps of the private equity life cycle. The book is complimented by Private Equity in Action: Case Studies from Developed and Emerging Markets, an INSEAD case book which provides rich, real-life applications of these core concepts.^ The complexity of the private equity model continues to confuse industry outsiders, with the success of the industry often attributed either to a mystical secret sauce or a ruthless approach to cost cutting and asset stripping. In the authors experience, however, the competitive advantage of private equity comes from the diligent application of best practices, as described in this book, a corporate governance model which provides alignment of interest among managers and owners, a keen focus on major drivers of risk and opportunity and, above all, a lot of hard work. This book provides a comprehensive, unbiased guide to investing market practices, enabling its readers to better understand the inner workings of the private equity model.^ It can equally serve as a standard introduction for investment professionals new to the field, as a reference book for specific steps along the investment process, or as a comprehensive overview of the mechanics of private equity to students of alternative investing. Each diligently researched and concisely presented chapter focuses on one specific aspect of private equity and is complemented by a comment from a guest author, all of whom are seasoned private equity and venture capital professionals or founding partners of established funds. The team of experienced authors ensures the right balance of academic rigor and industry relevancy, given their experience in the world of alternative investments and their regular engagement with both PE investors and the fund managers themselves.^ The chapters and case studies have been refined through in-class discussion at one of the world & rsquo;s preeminent business schools, INSEAD, and bolstered by the research engine of the Global Private Equity Initiative (GPEI), a leading private equity research institution"-- "This book presents a valuable on-demand tool and unique handbook for investors, finance professionals, managers and business owners looking to engage with private equity or venture firms"--