To mark the launch of LSE's new Abraaj Capital sponsored initiative into the research and teaching of Private Equity, Dr Ulf Axelson, newly appointed Abraaj Capital Reader in Finance and Private Equity, gave the lecture "Private Equity: Leveraged Expertise or Leveraged Bets?" on the 27th of September 2010.
Organised jointly by the Department of Finance and the Financial Markets Group, Dr Axelson's lecture shed light on the controversial role of private equity (PE) in the economy, however he pointed out that a lot still has to be done to determine whether private equity is good or bad for firms and investors. The lecture, explaining the basic concepts PE up to the recent quantitative research, enriched the perspective of both experts and amateurs alike and the subsequent discussion immediately made clear that the issue of private equity's role stirs up the spirits and animates debate.
Following the lecture, Professor Felda Hardymon (Visiting LSE Professor, Harvard Business School) chaired a very lively panel discussion entitled "Private Equity in Downturns: Contributors or Saviours?", comprising of Arif Naqvi (Abraaj Capital), Kurt Bjorklund (Permira Advisers), Lord Cairns (Celtel), and Lord Rothschild (RIT Capital Partners).
A podcast of the lecture is available at the following link
'Private Equity: Leveraged Expertise or Leveraged Bets?' mp3