Prof Ulf Axelson

This course is available on the MSc in Finance (part-time). This course is not available as an outside option.

Students must have completed FM422E and FM423E.

• Evaluating and executing Private Equity Deals
• Business Plans, Venture Capital, and Entrepreneurial Finance
• Private Equity as an asset class and the private equity landscape

The course provides a thorough grounding in the theory and recent developments in the field of private equity. Starting by examining how private equity funds are raised and structured, the course will examine how private equity can be used in start-ups, in scaling-up cash flow businesses, and in restructuring firms facing financial distress. The course explores the link between private and venture capital on the one hand and public securities markets on the other. The course will examine the process through which private equity investors exit their investments. The course will also give a detailed analysis of the types of finance used in private equity and an evaluation of the short and long-run performance of private equity investments. The course will include an evaluation of the performance of different types of private equity investment and a comparison with other forms of ownership will be undertaken.

30 hours of seminars in the LT.

This course is taught in the interactive lecturing format. There is no distinction between lectures and classes/seminars; there are “sessions” only, and the pedagogical approach in each session is interactive.

Each week there will typically be a formative or summative case study assignment.

Ulf Axelson, Tim Jenkinson, Per Strömberg, and Michael S. Weisbach. Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts: An Empirical Analysis. August 28, 2007; Steven N. Kaplan and Per Strömberg. Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity, Social Science Research Network, June 2008; Cendrowski, Harry. Private Equity: Governance and Operations Assessment. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. 2008; Lerner, Joshua. Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Casebook. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 2000; Acharya V V; Franks J R & Servaes H (2007) "Private Equity: Boom and Bust?" Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 19(4) , Fall 2007, 44-53.

Coursework (90%) and class participation (10%) in the LT.

Coursework will comprise summative case assignments, in-class assignments, and mini-projects.