Abstract
The internationalisation of the Portfolio Company is a key strategy used by Private Equity investors to create value and produce returns. In recent years, the focus onthe strategies for value-creation through operational improvement has become essential to achieve the exponential growth required to the Portfolio Company,given thelow multiples and themarket riskof leverage. In this paper, we define the key types of contribution that a Private Equity investor can provide in order to support the internationalisation process and their effects on the Portfolio Company performance. The research is based on a survey administered to 47 Private Equity fundmanagers, which covers156 dealsinvolving Italian companies. The results offer insight into the contribution tothe corporate governance, strategyand management that Private Equity provides in addition to the monetary support. The findings show that the non-financial support given toPortfolio Companies has a positive impact on the performance and that the most impactful contribution the Private Equity can give is the support to the relational network when the company strategy involves a Foreign Direct Investment.