London Business School Coller Institute of Private Equity

PRIVATE EQUITY FINDINGS - ISSUE 7 WINTER 2012

Issue 7 of Private Equity Findings is now available for download.

Title:IS BIGGER BETTER? Does size really matter when it comes to LP investment programmes?

Distributed directly to a global audience, Findings is a core component of our primary mission in the establishment of a world-renowned research centre and debating forum for private equity. By screening and commenting on the world’s leading, current research, we hope that Findings makes academic research more accessible to the private equity community and enriches learning on the industry’s hot topics.

Issue 7 of Findings commences with an interview with Lynda Gratton, professor of management at London Business School, who was a keynote speaker at our 2012 Symposium. Professor Gratton shares her vision of tomorrow’s company. Listing the five most powerful influences on how organisations will work in the future, she outlines the quality criteria that PE firms should look for in the managers of their portfolio companies.  

In our Head to Head article, a study by Francesca Cornelli of London Business School and David Li of Tsinghua University appraises potential conflicts of interest for managers in the run-up to a leveraged buyout (LBO) or privatisation. Frank Carter, M&A partner and head of KPMG’s Corporate Finance’s Private Equity Group, argues that appropriate checks and balances and an astute level of oversight by the board are proven means to prevent managers from succumbing to such a conflict of interest. Related Research Paper

“Is big beautiful?” investigates why large pension funds achieve lower costs and higher gross returns when investing in general and when investing in private equity in particular. Related First Research Paper - Second Research Paper

PE Findings’ next article, “Yin and yang”, examines tools and strategies fuelling sustainable growth in a fast-expanding and competitive Chinese private equity and venture capital market. The article summarises the key findings of the Coller Institute’s Cowin Capital case study produced by Professor Eli Talmor, together with London Business School MBA students Wei Cao, Masaki Takeda and Carolyn Tiet.

Our written roundtable discussion deals with the question of PE firms’ real impact on the operational performance of their portfolio companies. Three research papers exploring the subject looked for evidence of operational furtherance and the key catalysts for the returns generated by private equity. Related                First Research Paper, Second Research Paper, Third Research Paper

The final article in Issue 7 looks at the paper that was the runner-up in the 2011 Coller PhD Prize. Manager Networks and Success of Venture Capital Syndications, by Vineet Bhagwat investigates whether venture capital firms syndicate investments more often if the managers at the two firms have a common educational background, and whether such syndicates outperform those where no such relationship exists. Related Research Paper

We hope this publication enriches your knowledge of private equity and look forward to your feedback.

In Coller Institute news, we provide coverage of our recent research and case studies and our events.


We welcome your thoughts and perspectives on the topics discussed in this issue of Findings. In addition to our survey at www.collerinstitute.com/Feedback, we invite you to supply your views via our website blog or by email at collerpe@london.edu. The most interesting comments will receive a copy of International Private Equity, authored by Professors Eli Talmor and Florin Vasvari of London Business School.