Private Equity und Familienunternehmen – eine Untersuchung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbauunternehmen

Despite the common view that there is inherently a relationship of confliction, it is now impossibleto imagine the financing of family-owned enterprises in Germany without the alternativemethod of Private Equity financing. Based on a survey on Private Equity in familyowned companies specialising in the mechanical engineering sector, this working paper identifiesthat Private Equity in general is not as unwanted as once assumed. Overall more than ¾of the surveyed companies do not exclude investment capital. However, the study demonstratesthat the time of large buy-outs is arguably up, and minority capital has now come intovogue. This working paper examines, from the viewpoint of the managing directors of thestudied companies, the conceptions and beliefs held by such persons about Private Equity.Generally speaking, besides loss of control, managing directors primarily fear Private Equitybecause of exaggerated returns on investment at the expense of the long-term development ofthe company. On the other hand, this paper also highlights that managing directors expect thatPrivate Equity can have a positive element as it can enable bank independence, especially at atime when it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain creditworthiness. Further, this paperanalyses the relationship between the managing director of the family enterprise and the PrivateEquity investor. Because of the special situation of the managing director in a familyowned company, trust between that person and the Private Equity investor is one of the mostimportant factors. If there is a lack of trust the business relation is troubled from the start.