During the past few decades, private equity (PE) has attracted considerable attention from investors, practitioners, and academicians. In fact, a substantial literature on PE has emerged. PE offers benefits for institutional and private wealth management clients including diversification and enhancement of risk-adjusted returns. However, several factors such as liquidity concerns, regulatory restrictions, and the lack of transparency limit the attractiveness of some PE options to investors. The latest volume in the Financial Markets and Investments Series, Private Equity: Opportunities and Risks offers a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature on PE in both emerging and developed markets. Editors H. Kent Baker, Greg Filbeck, Halil Kiymaz and their co-authors examine PE and provide important insights about topics such as major types of PE (venture capital, leveraged buyouts, mezzanine capital, and distressed debt investments), how PE works, performance and measurement, uses and structure, and trends in the market. Readers can gain an in-depth understanding about PE from academics and practitioners from around the world. Private Equity: Opportunities and Risks provides a fresh look at the intriguing yet complex subject of PE. A group of experts takes readers through the core topics and issues of PE, and also examines the latest trends and cutting-edge developments in the field. The coverage extends from discussing basic concepts and their application to increasingly complex and real-world situations. This new and intriguing examination of PE is essential reading for anyone hoping to gain a better understanding of PE, from seasoned professionals to those aspiring to enter the demanding world of finance.

Table of Contents:
Part I Introduction 1. Private Equity: An Overview H. Kent Baker, Greg Filbeck, and Halil Kiymaz 2. The Economics of Private Equity: Background and Benefits Shantanu Dutta, Arup Ganguly, and Lin Ge 3. Private Equity in the United States and Europe: Market and Regulatory Developments Alexandros Seretakis Part II Major Types of Private Equity 4. Venture Capital in Europe: Myths and Reality Jean-Michel Sahut and Eric Braunne 5. Leveraged Buyouts Christian Rauch and Marc P. Umber 6. Mezzanine Capital and Commercial Real Estate J. Dean Heller 7. Distressed Investments Stephen G. Moyer and John D. Martin Part III How Private Equity Works 8. Valuing Private Equity Harlan Platt and Emery Trahan 9. Cost of Capital for Private Equity Alain Coën and Aurelie Desfleurs 10. Liquidity Issues in Private Equity: Lessons Learned in the Post-Financial Crisis Elif Akben Selcuk and Ayse Altiok Yilmaz 11. Private Equity Portfolio Management: Challenges, Approaches, and Implementation Thomas Meyer and Tom Weidig 12. The Role of Private Equity in IPOs: The Case of Venture Capital Firms Shantanu Dutta, Arup Ganguly, and Lin Ge 13. Exit Strategies in Private Equity Didier Folus and Emmanuel Boutron Part IV Performance and Measurement 14. Historical Performance of Private Equity: Cross-Country Evidence Kenneth Small and Jeff Smith, 15. Benchmark Biases in Private Equity Performance Robert Spliid 16. Return Persistence: Finding a Top Quartile Manager Adrian Oberli 17. Private Equity Due Diligence Manu Sharma and Esha Prashar Part V Private Equity: Uses and Structure 18. Institutional Investors and Private Equity Parvez Ahmed 19. Private Equity and Value Creation Peter Harbula 20. Compensation Structure Ji-Woong Chung 21. Global Regulatory and Ethical Framework Henry Ordower Part VI Trends in Private Equity 22. Private Investment in Public Equity Na Dai 23. Listed Private Equity Douglas Cumming, Grant Fleming, and Sofia Johan 24. Private Equity Growth in International and Emerging Markets Alexander Peter Groh 25. Diversification Benefits of Private Equity Funds-of-Funds Alex Buchner and Markus Kuffner 26. Publicly Traded Private Equity Henry Lahr 27. The Future of Private Equity: A Global Perspective Dianna Preece