A Private Equity Glossary

private equity glossary

Capital CallAlso known as a draw down – When a venture capital firm has decided where it would like to invest, it will approach its investors in order to “draw down” the money. Bridge FinancingCapital provided on a short-term basis to a company prior to its going public or its next major private equity transaction. A limited amount of equity or short-term debt financing typically raised within 6-18 months of an anticipated public offering or private placement meant to “bridge” a company to the next round of financing. B RoundA financing event whereby professional investors such as venture capitalists are sufficiently interested in a company to provide additional funds after the “A” round of financing. aion calculator AcquisitionThe establishment of control in one business entity by another, often with the assistance of private equity. Third party acquisition is a common exit mechanism for private equity funds. The process of gaining control, possession or ownership of a private portfolio company by an operating company or conglomerate. A company that has received an investment from a venture capital or private equity firm. A private equity firm typically manages several distinctly different funds, and will attempt to raise money for a new fund every three to five years, as the money from the previous fund is invested. Special situations are abnormal events that have a significant impact on a business’ future.

  • These portfolio company investments are funded with the capital raised from LPs, and may be partially or substantially financed by debt.
  • The cash flow from the portfolio company usually provides the source for the repayment of such debt.
  • Some private equity investment transactions can be highly leveraged with debt financing—hence the acronym LBO for “leveraged buy-out”.
  • While billion dollar private equity investments make the headlines, private-equity funds also play a large role in middle market businesses.
  • Leveraged Buyout A takeover of a company, using a combination of equity and borrowed funds.
  • Generally, the target company’s assets act as the collateral for the loans taken out by the acquiring group.

Distribution in specie/Distribution in kind– This can happen if an investment has resulted in anIPO. Alimited partnermay receive its return in the form of stock or securities instead of cash. The stock may not be liquid and limited partners can be left with shares that are worth a fraction of the amount they would have received in cash. There can also be restrictions in the US about how soon a limited partner can sell the stock . This means that sometimes the share value has decreased by the time the limited partner is legally allowed to sell. But to co-invest successfully, institutions need to have sufficient knowledge of the market to assess whether a co-investment opportunity is a good one. Co-investment– Although used loosely to describe any two parties that invest alongside each other in the same company, this term has a special meaning when referring to limited partners in a fund.

Growth Capital

Company BuybackThe redemption of private stock by the management of a Portfolio Company. The redemption of private of restricted holdings by the portfolio company itself. In the case of a public company, the stock is traded between investors on various exchanges. Owners of common stock are typically entitled to vote on the selection of directors and other important events and in some cases receive dividends on their holdings. Investors who purchase common stock hope that the stock price will increase so the value of their investment will appreciate. Additionally, in private equity glossary the event that a corporation is liquidated, the claims of secured and unsecured creditors and owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock. Co-investmentThe syndication of a private equity financing round or an investment by individuals alongside a private equity fund in a financing round. The average rate of co-investment is the total number of investments made in the total number of deals in a given period. Capital Under ManagementThe amount of capital available to a fund management team for venture investments.

If a limited partner in a fund has co-investment rights, it can invest directly in a company that is also backed by the private equity fund. The institution therefore ends up with two separate stakes in the company – one indirectly through the fund; one directly in the company. Some private equity firms offer co-investment rights to encourage institutions to invest in their funds. Catch up– A clause that allows the general partner to take, for a limited period of time, a greater share of the carried interest than would normally be allowed. This continues until the time when thecarried interestallocation, as agreed in the limited partnership, has been reached. This usually occurs when a fund has agreed a preferred return to investors – a fund may return the cost of investment, plus some other profits, to investors early. Growth A type of private equity investment in relatively mature companies that are looking for primary capital to expand and improve operations or enter new markets to accelerate the growth of the business. The venture capitalist may provide both funding and varying degrees of managerial and technical expertise.

Long-form Demand – Demand registration before the company becomes public. Usually starts one-three years after making an investment and may involve one or two demands for a percentage of stock. Short-form Demand – Demand made after the company is publicly traded and is eligible to use SEC’s Form S-3. Piggyback – Company is registering stock either for itself or other stockholders and one can “piggyback” a portion of shares for registration onto the company’s registration. Usually have these rights for up to five years after the company becomes public, but cannot exercise them for mergers or employee dash to bitcoin offerings. ProspectusA formal written offer to sell securities that provides an investor with the necessary information to make an informed decision. A prospectus explains a proposed or existing business enterprise and must disclose any material risks and information according to the securities laws. A prospectus must be filed with the SEC and be given to all potential investors. Partnership AgreementThe contract that specifies the compensation and conditions governing the relationship between investors (LP’s) and the venture capitalists (GP’s) for the duration of a private equity fund’s life.

private equity glossary

Accordingly, special situation funds are equity funds that are after companies are in said special situations. Most of the profits generated here are through a change in the valuation of the company. Examples include large company spinning off a business unit as its own entity, private equity acquisitions or mergers, bankruptcy proceedings, and tender offers. A fund of funds , or a multi-manager investment, is an investment made in private equity funds rather than directly in bonds, stocks, and securities. Fund of funds is often associated with greater investment diversification and lower risk. Mezzanine financing divulges from the other investment strategies on this list because it consists of both debt and equity.

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Portfolio– A private equity firm will invest in several companies, each of which is known as a portfolio company. The spread of investments into the various target companies is referred to as the portfolio. Internal rate of return – This is the most appropriate performance benchmark for private equity investments. In simple terms, it is a time-weighted return expressed as a percentage.

A common trend in the private equity industry where fund performance and cash flows are negative in early stages due to capital expenditures and other expenses, but rise over time as results are produced. The phenomenon causes a “J-curve” when looking at a chart of the fund’s performance, with a slight dip at the onset followed by steady growth. A private equity transaction in which a firm acquires all or a significant amount of equity in a business. Buyouts typically involve a mixture of cash and debt, which has led to the term “leveraged buyout”. A financing round is a type of securities offering wherein a company receives capital from investors in exchange https://www.coindesk.com/harvard-yale-brown-endowments-have-been-buying-bitcoin-for-at-least-a-year-sources for equity, as a loan, or in some other financial arrangement. The total market value of the financial assets which the venture capital fund manages on behalf of its limited partners. Most venture capital funds raise a finite amount of money and operate for a finite period of time. Once the target fund size has been reached, that capital is under the fund’s management, usually for a period of ten years. Fund managers usually have the option to extend the fund’s term by two to three years, often in one year increments, at their discretion. a report with a visualization of the relative share of different asset classes in several top university endowments.

The final stage of venture capital investing involving companies that have achieved strong revenue growth and are near exit. As late stage investments are less risky, the rate of return is typically lower. A growth equity investment provides relatively mature companies with capital to fund expansion or restructuring in exchange for an equity position, typically a minority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/private equity glossary stake. As opposed to a buyout, growth equity investors do not take control of the business. Leveraged buyout – Leverage means debt and a leveraged buyout uses debt to partially fund the purchase of the equity. Because many of the target companies have strong cash flows, investors can secure debt against the company’s cash flows and boost their overall returns.

private equity glossary

Limited Partnership An organization comprised of a general partner, who manages a fund, and limited partners, who invest money but have limited liability and are not involved with the day-to-day management of the fund. In the typical venture capital fund, the general partner receives a management fee and a percentage of autonomous organizations the profits . The limited partners receive income, capital gains, and tax benefits. A legal fund structure most frequently used by Private-Independent Funds to raise capital from external sources, such as institutional investors. The primary relationship in this structure is the general partner and the limited partner .

Listed Funds (lfs)

Instead, PE investors seek solid and stable businesses with diversified customer bases, strong cash flows, and more reliable returns. A typical investment has a holding period of 4-7 years and aims to generate investor returns in the range of 20-40% annual IRR. The Revenue Run Rate (also run rate — one word) is the annualized revenue of a company if you were to extrapolate the current revenue over a year. It refers to the financial performance of a company based on using current financial information as a predictor of future performance. The run rate functions as an extrapolation of current financial performance and is based on the assumption that current conditions will continue. Run rates are useful for new business or business units within a company that have only had a short period of revenue generation opportunity. This figure allows managers, venture capitalists and investors to measure the annualized revenue.

private equity glossary

The IRR is calculated for each fund as cash-on-cash to the investors on a cumulative basis, modified to incorporate the quarter end valuation of the fund’s unliquidated holdings or residual value. The rates of return analyzed throughout the Thomson Reuters private equity products are annualized returns unless otherwise stated. A fund formed by the private equity arm of an investment advisory firm which raises money from outside investors. An independent private firm that makes private equity investments which raises a portion or all of its capital from outside investors. The realization multiple measures the actual money paid back to investors in a private equity fund. The realization multiple measures the return that is realized from the investment. The realization multiple is also known as the distributions to paid-in multiple. It is calculated by dividing the cumulative distributions by paid-in capital. The realization multiple, in conjunction with the investment multiple, gives a potential private equity investor insight into how much of the fund’s return has actually been “realized” or paid out to investors.

A Beginners Dictionary Of Venture Capital

Like most other alternative investments, private equity compensation structures can be complicated and usually include clauses. Two of the main types of clauses are the preferred return provision and the clawback provision. The preferred return, or hurdle rate, is basically a minimum annual private equity glossary return that the limited partners are entitled to before the general partners may begin receiving carried interest. Limited partners are usually institutional or high-net-worth investors interested in receiving the income and capital gains associated with investing in a private equity fund.

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