Kay Müller provides insight into the monitoring activities of private equity fund investors and explores their information requirements. He analyzes the reporting of private equity fund managers, reveals information gaps and provides guidance on how to improve investor relations. Dr. Kay...

This paper analyzes how founders and their families influence R&D intensity. Information on R&D comes from a large-scale, bi-annual survey among listed German firms. We find that R&D intensity is higher in firms that are actively managed by the family. The impact of family control (via voting...

Using a unique proprietary data set of 1980 realized and unrealized buyouts completed between 1986 and 2010, we examine entry and exit pricing in buyouts and its influence on private equity (PE) sponsors' returns. We find that besides leverage and operational improvements, EBITDA multiple...

We examine the effects of family firms on real earnings management (REM) and accrual-based earnings management (ABEM). Using socioemotional wealth as a theoretical framework and considering the different implications of REM and ABEM on family firms' transgenerational sustainability, we...

We investigate relationships between the industry relatedness of venture capital-backed companies and their strategic acquirer in trade sales and the achieved investment returns of venture capitalists. Using a proprietary data set of 716 trade sales, we analyze return differences between lateral...

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify specific drivers of value creation in secondary buyouts. While this type of private equity deal has risen in importance in recent years, it is not yet well understood. Through an in-depth analysis of the acquisition of Brenntag by BC Partners,...

We examine ownership dynamics in listed founding-family firms over the period 1996–2008. In order to enlarge the understanding of persistence of ownership influence, we analyze determinants of change in the light of family-firm heterogeneity. We detect ownership decreases and increases, alike....

Private equity is invested mostly in established firms, of which family businesses are the dominant form. Under the pecking order hypothesis, private equity is a finance of last resort. Tests of the pecking order and its assumptions have provided conflicting results. For family firms, the...

The authors use proprietary loan contracts and financial information negotiated between banks and private equity sponsors to explore the financial covenant structure and the determinants of covenant restrictiveness in a large set of leveraged buyouts. With respect to the covenant structure, we...