Abstract
This thesis aims to shed some light on some understudied research topics in Private Equity academic literature, investigating the determinants of exit strategy, the long-term performance of PE-backed firms and the rationale of the “buy-and-build” strategy as a value creation lever, leveraging on both quantitative and qualitative methods. The nationality of a PE investor is consistently important for buy-back and trade sale divestments, whereas government-related PE ownership implies that IPO and write-off are less likely and buy-back more likely compared to SBOs. Additionally, the thesis empirically supports the hypothesis of long-term value creation by the PE investors. Furthermore, the work shows that PE investors realizes B&B strategy to create a bigger group and enhance shareholder value through multiple arbitrage, i.e. buying at a lower EBITDA multiple compared to the realized multiple at exit. The thesis concludes by summarizing the key implications for academics, policymakers, and other stakeholders of PE industry, and discussing some limitations as well as future avenues of research.