1. Introduction 2. Private Equiteers: The Confidantes Behind the Cloak- Do you have what it takes?
- A week in the life of a mid-market private equiteer
- Working for a mega-fund vs. mid-market fund
- The human side of private equity teams and dealmaking
- The recipe for success for mid-market private equiteers
- How to discuss deals within a private equity team
- Toning it down for the team
- Show me the carry... or at least most of it
- In it for more than the carry
- Show me the carry, part II
- Human behavior and its affect on private equity
- Private equiteers and bankers; VCs and entrepreneurs
- String learning curves together; quit your job every 6-12 months
3. Firm & Fund: The Architecture, Anatomy and Arrangement- Structure of a private equity fund
- Different stages of venture capital and private equity funding
- The 4 life stages of a private equity fund
- The subtle hierarchy of the private equity structure
- There's no way that's private equity
- Types of investors in a private equity fund
- The 2/20 rule for private equity funds
- Carried Interest 2.0
- Carried interest, the Buffett way
- Private equity 101: the J-Curve
- Bred in captivity... and looking to escape
- Capital calls: who's really in control?
- Due diligence for LPs
- Firm-wide financial controllers
- Sure, let's get married, we've known each other at least 60 minutes
- Is venture capital a form of private equity and vice versa?
4. Theories & Ideas: There's More Than One Way To... Save a Cat- The anatomy of an attractive industry in all economic conditions
- What to look for in potential investees in this economic climate?
- Borrrrrrrrrrring... but we love boring in private equity
- A problem with the 'we love boring businesses' argument
- The principal-agent problem... and private equity
- Adhocracy: the antithesis of today's corporate strategy
- The four horsemen of the private equity apocalypse
- Appearances are only skin deep in life and private equity
- Mistakes of ambition vs. mistakes of sloth
- Do we need a Magna Carta for the private equity industry?
- Corporate governance the natural way
- Correlation vs causation: industry analysis
- Is listed private equity an oxymoron?
- Should we treat firms that sign up to the UNPRI as suspicious?
- A new benchmark for the risk-free rate
- Look, the private equiteer has no clothes
- The nomadic private equiteer: it's possible in theory
5. Structuring: The Key to Value Preservation in Private Equity- The value-based components of a private equity deal
- Stake with the sizzle
- Preference equity and convertible notes
- Why do certain investors deserve preference equity?
- Bridging the gap with an earn-out
- Funding earn-outs... a tip for new players
- Are earn-outs fair or just a product of private equity avarice?
- The importance of managers investing cold hard cash
- The private equiteer toolbox: equity ratchets
- The pros and cons of equity ratchets
- Private equity ratchets in practice
- Private equity ratchets in practice II
- Keeping lawyers fed and clothed
- Term sheet treatise
- Term sheets: Indemnification
- Term sheets: covenant not to compete
- Term sheets: drag-along rights
- Term sheets: exclusivity
- Term sheets: lock-up provisions
- Term sheets: preference participation and liquidation preference
- Tax: a private equiteer's second best friend
- The anatomy of the ideal board of directors
- Net asset adjustments at transaction settlement
- Receiving a return sooner: fees, glorious fees
6. Banks & Debt: The Key to Value Creation in Private Equity- Borrowing from the bank: asset versus cash flow
- The most common covenants in private equity debt financing
- Using EBITDA or FCF in debt covenant calculations
- Using debtors to secure additional liquidity
- Vendor financing for private equity deals
- Vendor financing example
- The credit tick of approval and its hidden value
- Banks are destroying small businesses
7. Analysis & Due Diligence: Sorting the Plums from the Lemons- Types of due diligence that private equity firms conduct
- Market due diligence in private equity
- All financial statements matter in private equity
| 7. Analysis & Due Diligence: Sorting the Plums from the Lemons- Financial profit & loss 101
- The devil's in the detail
- The amplifying effect of diminishing sales
- Unprofitable customers
- Free cash flow, a primer
- What's the deal with capex anyway?
- How to calculate capex from financial statements
- The free cash flow capex conundrum
- Working Capital Series: Introduction
- Working Capital Series: References and calculations
- Working Capital Series: Drivers
- Working Capital Series: Cash-positive and cash-negative profiles
- Working Capital Series: Valuation
- Working Capital Series: What to do at settlement?
- Working Capital Series: the locked-box approach
- Working Capital Series: Measuring and monitoring
- Working Capital Series: Improvements and one-off cash wins
- Working Capital Series: Preparing for sale
- Confidentiality during market due diligence
8. Valuation: Making Sense of What to Pay- The silence of snow and investee valuation methods
- The earnings multiple valuation method
- Quick and dirty, yet conservative, valuation in these crazy times
- Comparing a trade deal with a private equity deal
- I'll take your privates and give you my publics
- Pre-money versus post-money valuations
- An apples vs apples comparison of earnings
- Should I consider EBITDA or EBIT?
- Does enterprise value include working capital?
- What happens to EV when you issue more equity?
- Drivers of valuation multiples
- Negative equity, but positive cash flow
- Negative equity: just add a pinch of debt and stir gently
- The "plus stock at value" phenomenon
- Let's be honest, we're over-geared and in hot water
9. Entrepreneur: Donning an Important Hat- Fundamental themes of private equity value creation
- Obvious value-add for private equiteers
- I just made an investment, what do I do now?
- An ounce of entrepreneurial blood
- A lean mean entrepreneurial machine
- Entrepreneur-in-residence
- EQ: Entrepreneurial Quotient
- The customer value proposition
- Making something of this downturn: cyclical businesses
- Apparently everything is counter-cyclical now
- Drucker's third deadly business sin: cost-driven pricing
- More than an arbitrary academic theory: Porter's 5 Forces
- Porter's 5 Forces: what about a 6th, 7th or even 8th force?
- Risk management is temporal for private equity
- The competitor without a face: internal investment
- Salary versus performance
- Workplace performance
- The essence of a business
- The most important ingredient to success in business
- The business model: a humble hero
- Keeping a safe distance when advising investees
10. Dealmaking: The Art of Getting In- Private equity deal strategies
- Channels for private equity deal origination
- The pros and cons of intermediation
- As difficult as it may be, it pays to be nice to bankers
- The many drivers of a private equity investment
- Opportunities abound, but what about the existing portfolio?
- Minimum stake a private equiteer will take in a business
- A preference for partial sales
- Low-hanging deal fruit ain't what it used to be
- A word on private equity and franchises
- Private equity deal killers
- The aftershock of hard negotiations
- The economics of bolt-on acquisitions
- Methods for private equity firms to exit investments
- Exiting founders, unaligned interests
- Is a recapitalization a compelling exit strategy?
- How to get the best price when selling a business
- Tips for an entrepreneur to investigate private equity options
11. Anti-PE: Is It Really Magic or Just a Con?- Stay clear of single-owner private equity firms
- Equity returns for debt risk
- Natural selection or naturally speculation?
- Private equity returns are misleading
- Private equity returns are misleading - Part II
- It's all about investing in the best management team... isn't it?
- Clip-on acquisitions in private equity
- The puzzle of private equity
- Private equity: having your cake and eating it too?
- The superficiality of most due diligence
- A sure-fire way to get private equiteers talking nonsense
- The perversity of secondary buyouts
- Venture capitalists stymie innovation
- Stop deceiving your limited partners!
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