2009 evca buyout report

2009 EVCA Buyout Report

An EVCA Research Paper - December 2009

EVCAThe European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association

EVCA is the voice of European private equity and venture capital. We promote and protect the interests of close to

1,300 members, thereby ensuring they can conduct their business effectively.

EVCA engages policymakers and promotes the industry among key stakeholders, including institutional investors,

entrepreneurs and employee representatives. EVCA develops professional standards and research reports, as well as

holding professional training and networking events.

EVCA covers the whole range of private equity, from early-stage venture capital to the largest buyouts.

For more information, please visit www.evca.eu.

Table of Contents 1

Editorial 4

Executive Summary 5

1. Introduction 7

2. Impact of the Economic Environment on Deal Making 8

2.1. Overview 8

2.2. Debt market 9

2.2.1. Leveraged loan market activity 9

2.2.2. Leveraged loan pricing 10

2.2.3. Maturity schedule of outstanding leveraged loans 11

2.3. Debt-to-EBIT ratios 11

2.4. Deal structures 12

2.5. Deal pricing 14

3. Evolution of Buyout Activity 2007 - Q3 2009 15

3.1. Fundraising market 15

3.1.1. Overview 15

3.1.2. Fundraising by type of investor 16

3.1.3. Geographic sources of fundraising 17

3.1.4. Final closings 18

3.2. Investments 21

3.2.1. Overview 21

3.2.2. Stages of financing 24

3.2.3. Buyouts by deal size 27

3.2.4. Sector overview 28

3.2.5. Initial versus follow-on investments 30

3.2.6. Investment syndication 32

3.2.7. Investments by number of employees 34

3.3. Divestments 35

3.3.1. Overview 35

3.3.2. Divestments by exit method 37

3.3.3. Divestments by sector 38

3.3.4. Write-offs by sector 39

2

4. Buyout Performance Reported in 2009 40

4.1. Overview 40

4.2 Top-quarter and upper-half IRR 41

4.3. Performance by vintage year groups 42

4.4. Short-, medium-, and long-term returns reflected by net horizon IRRs 43

4.5. Performance by sector 45

5. Appendix 46

5.1. Fundraising 46

5.2. Investments 48

5.3. Divestments 50

6. Methodology and Definitions 51

6.1. Economic environment section 51

6.1.1. Standard & Poor’s LCD data 51

6.1.2. CMBOR data 51

6.2. Activity section 51

6.2.1. Coverage 51

6.2.2. Fundraising 52

6.2.3. Investments 52

6.2.4. Divestments 53

6.2.5. Number of companies 53

6.2.6. Data updates 53

6.2.7. Definitions 54

6.3. Performance section 56

Figures and Tables

Figure 1: EU GDP growth and index of buyout investment activity by amount 8

Figure 2: Senior loan volume - LBO transactions 9

Figure 3: Rolling three-month weighted average spreads of all European new-issue LBOs 10

Figure 4: Maturity schedule by par outstanding 11

Figure 5: Debt-to-EBIT ratios for private-equity-backed buyouts 12

Figure 6: Average deal structures for European private-equity-backed buyouts 13

Figure 7: Regional fundraising - % of European total 16

Figure 8: Funds raised by type of investor 17

Figure 9: Fund closings by region - % number of funds 19

Figure 10: Final closings by fund size range 20

Figure 11: Investments by European private equity houses - evolution 21

Figure 12: Investments into European portfolio companies - evolution 22

Figure 13: Average investment size per company by region 23

Figure 14: Investments by region and stage in Q1-Q3 2009 25

2009 EVCA Buyout Report - An EVCA Research Paper - December 2009

Table of Contents

3

Figure 15: Average investment size by stage of financing - 2007-Q3 2009 26

Figure 16: Equity versus transaction value by buyout deal size - Q1-Q3 2009 27

Figure 17: Average investment size per company by sector 29

Figure 18: Initial versus follow-on investments - % of number of companies 31

Figure 19: Initial versus follow-on investments by region - Q1-Q3 2009 32

Figure 20: Syndication by stage 33

Figure 21: Syndicated versus non-syndicated deals by region - Q1-Q3 2009 34

Figure 22: Investments by number of employees 35

Figure 23: Divestments at cost - evolution 36

Figure 24: Divestments by location of the private equity firm - Q1-Q3 2009 36

Figure 25: Divestments by exit method - % of number of companies 37

Figure 26: Divestments by sector - % of amount 38

Figure 27: Write-offs by sector - % of amount 39

Figure 28: Net IRR since inception per quarter 42

Figure 29: Five-and 10-year rolling IRRs 44

Table 1: Average P/E* ratios for European private-equity-backed buyouts 14

Table 2: Buyout funds by fund stage focus 2007-Q3 2009 15

Table 3: Ranking of top limited partners by location 18

Table 4: Funds closed by stage focus 18

Table 5: Funds closed by sector focus 20

Table 6: Investments by geographic origin 23

Table 7: Investments by region 24

Table 8: Investments by stage of financing 25

Table 9: Buyouts by deal size range 28

Table 10: Annualised net pooled IRR since inception to 31 December 2008 40

Table 11: Top-quarter and upper-half net pooled IRR 41

Table 12: Annualised net pooled IRR by vintage years as of 31 December 2008 43

Table 13: Horizon IRRs to 31 December 2008 43

Table 14: Performance by sector focus 45


4

“The buyout boom is over”. So it was reported last year in the 2008 EVCA Yearbook.

Certainly the writing was on the wall. The economic slowdown, impending credit crisis and declining stock markets

did not augur well for private equity. However, the full extent of the crisis only became apparent in 2009, as European

and North American economies moved into severe recession, bringing with it the near collapse of the banking system

and the closing down of the credit markets. As confidence dried up, investors sought refuge in cash and other liquid

investments, retreating from longer term illiquid asset classes, such as private equity, which drew a growing and

significant risk premium.

Most of us involved in private equity, whether as general partner practioners, limited partner investors, bankers,

service providers or employees of private-equity-backed companies, will agree that 2008 and 2009 have been very

challenging years for the European buyout industry. It will be important to understand the full impact of the crisis on

European buyouts, to appreciate the effects across the various facets of the asset class and to draw measured

conclusions on the standing of the industry and its way forward.

The publication of the 2009 EVCA Buyout Report is, therefore, particularly relevant. It can help us identify, quantify and

draw conclusions on investment activity, divestments, and fundraising. The report also addresses the issue of buyout

performance, comparing investment returns as of end 2008 with those of prior years. Unfortunately, it is still too early

to have performance data for 2009 but it is certain that net IRRs will be significantly lower than those recorded in 2008.

These themselves were markedly lower than those of 2007 and earlier years. Performance in 2009 will clearly be

influenced by the significant slowdown in private equity divestments, by the rise in the number and aggregate value

of write-offs and by the effects of depressed economic activity.

Is there now light at the end of the tunnel, are there grounds for future optimism, is the demise of European buyouts

now over? The 2009 EVCA Buyout Report may help us learn lessons from the past and anticipate future developments.

Maybe 2010 will herald the news that “the return of the buyout is near”.

David Chamberlain

About Capstone Partners

Founded in 2001, Capstone Partners (www.csplp.com) is a leading independent placement agent focused on raising

capital for private equity and real estate firms. Its experienced team of over 25 professionals, working from offices in

North America, Europe and Asia, is well placed to assist investment firms in the international development of their

investor base and complete successful fund raisings in a timely and efficient basis across different cycles.

For additional information about Capstone Partners, please contact:

North America Europe and Middle East Asia

Tripp Brower David Chamberlain Sheng Lu

Partner Partner Partner

+ 1 972-980-5800 + 41 22 365 45 00 + 86 21 5213 6959

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

For more information, please visit www.csplp.com.


Editorial

5

Impact of the economic environment on deal making

• EU GDP shrank starting Q2 2008

• Liquidity dried up

• Prices of leveraged loans increased

• Purchase and leverage multiples fell

Fundraising activity 2007-Q3 2009

• European buyout, mezzanine and growth funds jointly raised €140bn, of which 90% was dedicated to

buyout funds

• The first three quarters of 2009 witnessed a strong decrease in fundraising and fund closings

• The funds with final closings in 2009 were considerably smaller in size than in previous years. Only two funds

of above €1bn have had final closings so far in 2009

• In 2007-Q3 2009, pension funds were the main source of capital (29%), followed by funds-of-funds (17%) and

banks (11%)

• Investors in the UK and the US were among the top five limited partners each year

Investment activity 2007-Q3 2009

• The worsened economic and financial environment took its toll in terms of reduced investment values in the

buyout segment. However, as more firms moved towards the lower end of the market, investment activity in

terms of number of businesses financed held up better

• In 2008, the total amount invested in European companies dropped by 27% from the peak level of 2007,

although the number of companies financed grew by 13%. In the first nine months of 2009, the total amount

invested came to only about a quarter of the value for the whole of 2008, although the number of businesses

financed in 2009 was around half that of 2008

• Throughout 2007-Q3 2009, most of the amount invested came from domestic players (72%), while only a

small share (4%) came from private equity houses outside Europe

• Replacement capital was the only stage that saw growth in investment amount during the first three quarters

of 2009, driven by refinancing deals

• Mid-market deals were most common in terms of amount invested, with an average equity-to-transaction-value

ratio of over 50% in 2009

• Nearly 80% of the businesses invested in were growth deals or small buyouts

• Business & industrial products was the most targeted sector throughout the period, followed by consumer

goods & retail, then communications

• In line with the difficult economic environment, considerably more companies received follow-on investments

in Q1-Q3 2009

• In Europe overall, most deals were not syndicated. France was the exception, where over half of the amount

was syndicated

• The majority of the companies receiving private equity backing were SMEs

Divestment activity 2007-Q3 2009

• Trade sales were the most popular type of exit

• The business & industrial products sector recorded the most divestments

• Most companies divested from so far in 2009 were domiciled in the DACH region

• Companies written off in 2009 represented 1.3% of the aggregate number of companies invested in over the

previous five years


Executive Summary

6

Performance reported in 2009 (as of 31 December 2008)

• As of the end of 2008, the long-term performance of the buyout industry remained steady with an overall net

pooled IRR since inception at 12.6%

• Large buyout funds achieved the highest net return, at 19.2% while mega funds registered the lowest return

of 8.7%

• Top quarter returns remained very strong with an overall net pooled return since inception of 31.9%

• Downward pressure on valuations impacted the interim short-term performance, with all fund sizes recording

one-year returns in the negative territory

• Mega buyout funds were most impacted by the crisis with -34.9% net IRR over the one-year horizon, while

small buyout funds were the least affected with a net return of -11.0%. However, private equity is a long-term

investment strategy and the interim short-term figures are not indicative of the final fund performance

• Funds with vintages in early 1990s and 2000s achieved the highest returns suggesting that buyout

investments during downturns generated superior performance results


Executive Summary

7

The slowdown in the European economies and the increased reach of the financial crisis in the second part of 2008

had a clear, adverse impact on European buyout activity in 2008 and 2009(1). In the last quarter of 2008, buyout

investment halved compared with Q3 2008, and remained oriented downwards throughout the first half of 2009.

Fundraising, which remained very strong until the end of 2008, fell sharply in the first quarter of 2009 (down by 88%

compared with the last quarter of 2008). Since then, the fundraising environment has remained challenging, with total

funds raised so far in 2009 representing only 8% of the total funds raised in 2008. In addition, the size of individual

funds raised was smaller than in the past, with the average size of buyout funds reaching final closings in 2009

(€472m) just half the size of the average 2008 fund (€881m).

On the investment side, the crisis led to a sharp decrease in the amount invested (-77%), although the number of

businesses financed was more resilient to the crisis (-49%). More firms moved towards the lower end of the market,

with an increasingly larger share of small buyouts and growth in the total number of companies financed.

Accordingly, the average investment size per company decreased from €36m in 2007 to €23m in 2008 and €11m

so far in 2009. Unsurprisingly, replacement capital grew in 2009, driven by a sharp increase in refinancing deals,

which reached €2bn.

With the decrease in valuations, the exit market continued to fall in 2009. So far, divestments (excluding write-offs)

represented only 26% of the 2008 exit market by amount divested at cost, and 40% by number of companies.

As anticipated, the IPO window remained closed in 2009. The number of companies written off in 2009 so far was

2.5 times the number in 2007 or 1.3% of the aggregate number of companies invested in during the previous

five years.

Despite the currently depressed activity levels, the outlook for the industry remains positive. First signs of a recovery

appeared in the third quarter of this year. Similar to the European Union GDP, which went up by 0.2% from its Q2

2009 level, buyout activity seemed to rebound as investment value increased by 10.0% from the previous quarter.

In addition, GDP in the European Union is expected to grow by 0.7% in 2010, and increase further in 2011 by 1.6%,

after an estimated -4.1% in 2009(2). Moreover, performance data indicates that the highest returns were produced by

vintages in periods of depressed economic activity. This is a positive sign for buyout investments made in 2009.


(1) The buyout segment includes: buyout, growth, rescue/turnaround and replacement capital.(2) European Commission Economic Forecast, Autumn 2009: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication16055_en.pdf.

1. Introduction

8

2.1. Overview

The economic turbulence during 2008 and 2009 had a major impact across the investment, financial and corporate

worlds. From an institutional investment perspective, investment boards were faced with a wholesale re-pricing of

assets and a global recession, causing liquidity restraints, and a general move towards defensive positions.

In the European Union, GDP began to shrink in the second quarter of 2008, decreasing by 0.3% on a quarterly basis.

This marked the beginning of the recession in Europe, which reached a trough in Q1 2009, with GDP falling by 2.5%.

Throughout this period, the main driver of the recession was the decrease in industrial production, which contributed

up to 1.4 percentage points to the decrease in GDP in Q1 2009, caused by the decline in global demand.

The combined effect of the slowdown in the real economy, declining profitability, reduction in debt availability and asset

re-pricing had a clear, adverse impact on European buyout activity in 2008 and 2009(3). Similar to other investors,

buyout firms were very cautious with their investment decisions. Accordingly, in the last quarter of 2008, buyout

investment decreased by about 50% on Q3 2008, and continued to fall throughout the first half of 2009.

However, first signs of a recovery appeared in the third quarter of this year. According to preliminary figures from

Eurostat, the European Union GDP grew by 0.2%, with a rebound in industrial production expected to be the main

driver of this growth. Like the European Union GDP, buyout activity seemed to rebound, with investment value

increasing by 10.0% on the previous quarter. Further brightening in the European economic outlook is likely to drive

a more pronounced recovery in the buyout segment.


(3) The buyout segment includes: buyout, growth, rescue/turnaround and replacement capital.

2. Impact of the Economic Environment on Deal Making

Figure 1: EU GDP growth and index of buyout investment activity by amount

n GDP growth EU 27 (% q/q) n Buyout investments by amount (Index Q1 2007=100)

Source: EVCA calculation based on Eurostat and PEREP_Analytics

Q1 2007

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0

-2.5

105

95

85

75

65

55

45

35

25

15

Q2 2007 Q3 2007 Q4 2007 Q1 2008 Q2 2008 Q3 2008 Q4 2008 Q1 2009 Q2 2009 Q3 2009

%

9

2.2. Debt market

In line with the overall asset re-pricing, the European leveraged loan market experienced a substantial re-pricing

of risk in 2008 and 2009, evidenced by a contraction of market liquidity and significant spread-widening.

2.2.1. Leveraged loan market activity

After a relatively slow start in the early 2000s, leveraged loan activity in both the US and Europe picked up during the

years 2004-2007, fuelled by a combination of a favourable economic environment, low real interest rates due to

monetary policies, increased investment activity and strong competition among financial intermediaries. In this period,

the compound annual growth rate of the senior loan volumes for leveraged buyout transactions was 41% in the US

market and 48% in the European market. On the back of this robust four-year growth, senior leveraged loan volumes

reached €215bn in the US and €140bn in Europe in 2007. However, as the financial environment started changing

with the onset of the credit crunch in the second half of 2007, leveraged lending plummeted across the globe.

Worsening market conditions and liquidity dry-up significantly depressed leveraged loan levels in 2008 with US senior

loan volumes in 2008 dropping to €38bn, less than one-fifth of their 2007 level, and European loan volumes falling by

65% to €49bn. The first three quarters of 2009 saw another 80% decrease in the US loan volumes compared with

their level in the whole of 2008, and a 95% drop in European loan volumes. At just €10bn combined in the US and

Europe, new LBO loan activity during the first three quarters of 2009 was significantly lower than the previous trough

in 2001.


Figure 2: Senior loan volume - LBO transactions

n US market n European market

* first nine months of 2009 only

Source: Standard & Poor’s LCD

This chart reflects the estimated primary volume to the US and European loan markets. Includes all private equity related transactions,including refinancings and recapitalisations.

1999

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

€ bi

llion

79 65

19

37

26

35

2855

30

92

44

117

104

187

116

215

140

38

49

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*

15

28

10

2.2.2. Leveraged loan pricing

The impact of the financial crisis is also reflected in a widening of the average pricing spreads on new leveraged

buyout loans. Due to a general liquidity dry-up, tightening lending standards and decreased risk appetite, in August

2007 the prices of leveraged loans set off on an upward trend.

As figure 3 shows, when the financial crisis began to spread more widely, the average pricing spread over Euribor for

European RC/TLa loans widened to 233 basis points, and the spread over Euribor for European TLb/TLc loans

increased to 304 basis points in December 2007 from an average of 216 basis points and 277 basis points

respectively over the period January 2005 to 31 July 2007. It widened still further to 278 basis points for RC/TLa and

365 basis points for TLb/TLc in October 2008. After a slight dip in the last two months of 2008, the spread over

Euribor turned upward again, reaching 421 basis points for RC/TLa and topping 500 basis points for TLb/TLc in the

summer of 2009. The levels reached in July 2009 are thus higher than the average spread values in the period January

2005 – 31 July 2007, with a factor of 1.9 for RC/TLa and 1.8 for TLb/TLc.


(4) An amortising term loan (TLa or A-term loan) is a term loan with a progressive repayment schedule. These loans are normally syndicated to banks alongwith revolving credits as part of a larger syndication. An institutional term loan (B-term, C-term or D-term loans) is a term-loan facility with a portion carved outfor nonbank, institutional investors. These loans are priced higher than amortising term loans because they have longer maturities and bullet repayment schedules.


Figure 3: Rolling three-month weighted average spreads of all European new-issue LBOs

n RC/TLa n TLb/TLc


Wtd. Avg. ProRata spread (WAPR) is the average RC/TLa spread weighted by the sizes of the RC and TLa tranches.Wtd. Avg. Institutional Spread (WAIS) is the average TLb/TLc spread weighted by the size of the TLb and TLc tranches (4). E refers to Euribor.

Dec-

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Sep-

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Sep-

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Mar

-02

Jun-

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p-02

Dec-

02M

ar-0

3Ju

n-03

Sep-

03De

c-03

Mar

-04

Jun-

04Se

p-04

Dec-

04M

ar-0

5Ju

n-05

Sep-

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c-05

Mar

-06

Jun-

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Sep-

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c-07

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-08

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n-09

E+600

E+500

E+400

E+300

E+200

E+100

0

11

2.2.3. Maturity schedule of outstanding leveraged loans

The below maturity schedule shows that 80% of outstanding European leveraged loans are expected to mature in the

period 2013-2015, with 15% maturing in 2013, 28% in 2014, and 36% in 2015. Only a small amount of the

outstanding credit matures in the next three years, which should give some breathing space for portfolio companies

to weather the economic storm.

2.3. Debt-to-EBIT ratios

In the years preceding the onset of the credit crunch, ample liquidity, low interest rates and a healthy business

environment drove up debt-to-EBIT ratios, especially for large transactions. The amount of debt as a multiple of EBIT

for deals across all size ranges peaked in 2007, at 11.9 for buyouts above €100m, 6.8 for deals in the €10m-€100m

range and 4.6 for transactions below €10m. As expected, the debt-to-EBIT multiple recorded a drop in 2008.

The steepest decline was registered by €100m-plus deals, down to 7.6. However, the debt-to-EBIT multiple for this

range of the market picked up slightly in the first three quarters of 2009, reaching 8.0 while the debt-to-EBIT multiple

for deals under the €100m threshold continued to decrease. This trend implies that while it was commonly perceived

that larger deals were overheated, it seems that these same deals are also expected to be in a better position to

weather the storm.


Figure 4: Maturity schedule by par outstanding


Based on all facilities in the European Leveraged Loan Index (ELLI) universe, priced and unpriced.

20100%

201315%

201428%

201536%

20171%

201613%

20111%

20125%

12

2.4. Deal structures

The credit crisis also brought a change in the structuring of buyout transactions. In the years 2004-2007, the average

debt level in European private-equity-backed buyouts was 57% for transactions above €100m and 47% for deals

below €100m. However, with less debt available, in 2008 average debt levels decreased to 45% for deals above

€100m, and to 36% for transactions in the sub-€100m range. The first three quarters of 2009 saw the share of debt

in the average deal structure going down further, to 36% for the larger end of the market and 31% for the lower end.

As figure 6 shows, the reduction of debt in the structuring of buyout deals was substituted by an increase in equity.

For transactions above €100m, the share of equity jumped from an average of 32% in 2004-2007 to 43% in 2008,

and almost 60% in the first nine months of 2009. The equity share in sub-€100m deals also increased, although less

sharply, from an average of 44% in 2004-2007 to 51% in 2008 and 65% in 2009.

Therefore, the difference in equity shares between deal sizes (below and above €100m) halved. Between 2004 and

2007, the equity contribution in deals smaller than €100m was on average 12 percentage points higher than in

transactions above €100m. This came down to six percentage points in the first three quarters of 2009.

In deals above €100m, mezzanine was more commonly used throughout 2004-2008 (9% on average), but declined

substantially in 2009, to a mere 4%.


n €0m-€10m n €10m-€100m n Over €100m


Source: CMBOR/Barclays Private Equity

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

€ m

illion

Figure 5: Debt-to-EBIT ratios for private-equity-backed buyouts


13


Figure 6: Average deal structures for European private-equity-backed buyouts


Source: CMBOR/Barclays Private Equity

2004

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

47%

45%

2005 2006 2007 2008

n Equity

n Mezzanine

n Debt

n Loan note

n Other finance

2%

3%

3%

48%

41%

4%

4%

3%

45%

45%

3%

5%

2%

47%

44%

2%

3%

4%

36%

51%

4%

3%

5%

31%

65%

2%

2%

2009*

2004

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

57%

30%

10%

31%

10% 9% 7%

9%

2005 2006 2007 2008

n Equity

n Mezzanine

n Debt

n Loan note

n Other finance

2%1% 2%1% 1% 1%1% 1%2%

56% 56%

32%

58%

34%

45%

43%

36%

59%

4%

1%

2009*

Deals below €100m

Deals above €100m

14

2.5. Deal pricing

As the market and economic environment worsened, acquisition multiples generally declined sharply. This was most

evident in the case of transactions over €100m, which saw record deal prices in 2007, namely an average EBIT

multiple of 18.5 for €250m-plus deals and 16.6 for buyout transactions in the €100m-€250m range. In 2008, the

price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for the largest deals decreased by 9%, and by a further 37% in 2009, reaching 16.9 and

10.7 respectively. Similarly, average EBIT multiples for deals in the €100m-€250m size bracket dropped by 7% in 2008

and another 24% in the first three months of 2009.

Surprisingly, deals in the €50m-€100m range experienced an increase in P/E ratio throughout the crisis, reaching 14.2

in 2008 (an increase of 19% on 2007) and a 14.8 in 2009 (up 4%).

Table 1: Average P/E* ratios for European private-equity-backed buyouts



Deal size range 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009**

€10m-€25m 9.2 10.5 9.5 9.8 9.8 7.0

€25m-€50m 11.4 10.3 11.2 11.8 12.4 10.0

€50m-€100m 12.8 15.0 9.7 11.9 14.2 14.8

€100m-€250m 14.0 13.9 14.9 16.6 15.4 11.7

Over €250m 13.6 18.2 18.6 18.5 16.9 10.7

* P/E ratios here are defined as deal price divided by EBIT** first nine months of 2009 onlySource: CMBOR/Barclays Private Equity

15

3.1. Fundraising market (5)

In 2008, fundraising reached €69bn, up 5% from the 2007 level but then experienced a steep decline in 2009

(-92%) with only €6bn raised during the first three quarters of the year. Throughout 2007-Q3 2009, European

buyout, mezzanine and growth funds jointly raised over €140bn. Over 90% of this amount was raised by buyout

funds, while mezzanine and growth funds each accounted for an equal share of about 4%. Pension funds were

the main source of capital, contributing 29% to the funds raised. Funds-of-funds and banks altogether allocated

another 28% to the total funds raised. At a regional level, the UK and Ireland combined accounted for the lion’s

share (62%) of the European buyout fundraising market. The share of the French fundraising market increased

during this period, to reach 13% of the total funds raised in the first nine months of 2009.

3.1.1. Overview

The financial crisis swung hard at the buyout industry in 2009. Preliminary figures showed an extremely challenging

fundraising environment in the first three quarters of 2009, with only €6bn raised in Europe, a dramatic decrease

compared with the whole of 2008 (€69bn) and 2007 (€66bn). No new funds above €1bn have been raised so far in

2009; in 2008, €1bn-plus funds represented 65% of total incremental funds raised.

In 2008, the total amount of funds raised was up 5% on the 2007 level, at €69bn, driven by a doubling in growth

funds and a 8% increase in buyout funds.

In Q1-Q3 2009, 88% of the funds raised were accounted for by buyout funds, slightly less than in 2008 (93%) and

2007 (90%). Growth funds continued to increase as a proportion of total fundraising, accounting for 10% of the total,

while mezzanine funds represented 2% of the total, only a quarter of their share of the 2007 total. The low share of

mezzanine funds may be a consequence of the continuing risk aversion of investors, as in times of debt scarcity, one

would expect mezzanine funds to become a valuable debt provider.

Table 2: Buyout funds by fund stage focus 2007-Q3 2009

As in previous years, the UK accounted for the largest share of the total funds raised in Europe (56%) in Q1-Q3 2009,

with 90% of the capital committed going to buyout funds.


(5) Throughout this report, “total fundraising” refers to funds raised by buyout, growth and mezzanine funds.

3. Evolution of Buyout Activity 2007 - Q3 2009

Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Funds raised by fund stage focus Amount % Amount % Amount %

Growth capital 1,694 2.6 3,708 5.3 541 9.5Buyout 59,212 89.8 64,711 93.3 5,045 88.2Mezzanine 5,037 7.6 979 1.4 130 2.3Total buyout funds raised 65,943 100.0 69,397 100.0 5,716 100.0

Source: EVCA/PEREP_Analytics

16

France came second in Q1-Q3 2009, with 13% of the European total, followed closely by the Nordic region with 9%.

Over 60% of the funds raised from France went to buyout funds, while growth funds represented nearly one-quarter

of the total. In the Nordic region, fundraising activity was almost entirely prompted by buyout funds (96%).

After a drop of 9 percentage points in 2008 on 2007, Southern Europe increased its share in the European fundraising

to 8% in Q1-Q3 2009. Belgium & The Netherlands and the CEE region doubled their shares in the first nine months

of 2009 to 6% and 2% respectively. Despite the increase, CEE remained the smallest fundraising market in Europe,

with all funds raised in the region focused on buyout investments.

The fundraising share of the DACH region in the European total remained relatively stable in Q1-Q3 2009, at just over

5%. However, contrary to previous years, no growth and mezzanine funds have been raised in 2009 so far in the

DACH region.

3.1.2. Fundraising by type of investor (6)

According to preliminary figures, banks became the main source of capital in the first three quarters of 2009,

accounting for 21% of the funds raised, compared with 7% in the whole of 2008. Pension funds had previously been

the main source of capital for European funds, accounting for 29% of the funds in the period 2007-2008. In 2009, the

share of pension funds declined to 19%. As in 2008 and 2007, funds-of-funds kept their second position as a source

of capital, accounting for slightly over 19% of the total.

Although it is too early to draw a definitive conclusion, the decline in allocations by the traditional investors into private

equity could perhaps be explained by the impact of the denominator effect on those portfolios that had a larger

exposure to public equity and the subsequent need to rebalance the asset allocation.


(6) Percentages are calculated on the funds raised for which the source was known.



2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

62%

12%

6%

7%

2008 2009*

n Belgium and The Netherlands

n CEE region

n DACH region

n France

n Nordic region

n Southern Europe

n UK and Ireland

4% 1%

7%

63%

13%

6%3% 1%

3%

12%

56%

8%

13%

5%2%

9%

6%

Figure 7: Regional fundraising - % of European total

% o

f Eur

opea

n to

tal


17

At a regional level, preliminary figures for 2009 showed that banks were the main contributor to funds managed from

the DACH region. Nordic funds received most commitments from funds-of-funds (27%), followed by family offices and

other asset managers (7), with 19% and 14% of the total respectively. For French funds, nearly 60% of the

commitments came from insurance companies and banks.

Family offices were the main source of capital for funds managed from Southern Europe, accounting for 29% of

the total, outranking funds-of-funds. While funds-of-funds accounted for one-third in 2008, they represented only 18%

of the total in Q1-Q3 2009.

As regards funds managed from the UK, pension funds continued to dominate the investor base with a 27%

contribution. Government agencies took a more prominent role, accounting for 20% of the total so far in 2009

(compared with only 7% in 2008), followed closely by funds-of-funds, which accounted for 19% in Q1-Q3 2009.

3.1.3. Geographic sources of fundraising

In the first nine months of 2009, most investors in European funds were located in the UK, followed by France. These two

countries combined accounted for over half of investor commitments. Preliminary figures for 2009 showed that the

contribution of international investors to European fundraising was substantially lower than in the previous two years.

In 2008, just over one-third of the committed funds originated from the US. Commitments from European investors

represented only half of the total funds raised, with the UK and France contributing 15% and 7% respectively to the

total. Outside Europe, Australasian and Canadian investors were significant sources of capital, with a 9% and 7%

share in European buyout funds respectively.


(7) Financial institutions (other than banks, endowments, family offices, foundations, insurance companies or pension funds) managing pools of capital byinvesting them across asset classes with the purpose of generating financial returns. These may include private equity direct funds that occasionally doindirect investments, but excludes funds-of-funds that are a stand-alone option.



2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

7%

24%

5%

11%

15%

11%

2008 2009*

n Academic institutions

n Banks

n Capital markets

n Corporate investors

n Endowments and foundations

n Family offices

n Fund-of-funds

n Government agencies

n Insurance companies

n Other asset managers

n Pension funds

n Private individuals

2%1%

2%

7%

14%

7%

33%

6%

8%

18%

6%5%

9%

2%1%

2%

1%

6%

7%

6%

19%

11%

19%

3% 1%

10%

21%

Figure 8: Funds raised by type of investor

% o

f am

ount

18

In 2007, 35% of the capital originated from outside Europe, led by US investors, with 20% of the total. UK investors

once more outpaced their European peers with a 20% share in overall commitments to European buyout funds.

Table 3: Ranking of top limited partners by location

3.1.4. Final closings

In total, 159 funds reached final closings from 2007 to the end of Q3 2009, raising €129bn. Buyout funds represented

almost 80% of the total number of funds that reached final closings, with 125 funds and an average fund size of about

€1bn. The 23 growth funds and 11 mezzanine funds that reached final closings during this period raised a total of

about €10bn.

Because of the financial crisis and global economic downturn, a much smaller number of funds managed to reach

final closings in the first nine months of 2009. In total, 19 funds had final closings, among which 13 pure buyout funds

accounted for 95% of the total amount raised. Also reflecting the current fundraising environment, these funds had a

considerably lower average fund size compared with previous years. Growth funds experienced the steepest decline

in average fund size from 2008, falling 78% to €67m in the first nine months of 2009. The average size of mezzanine

and buyout funds dropped to €87m (-38%) and €656m (-37%) respectively. However, the average size of mezzanine

funds had already plummeted by 80% year-on-year in 2008.

Table 4: Funds closed by stage focus



Ranking 2007 2008 2009*

1 USA USA United Kingdom

2 United Kingdom United Kingdom France

3 Greece Australasia Germany

4 Australasia Canada The Netherlands

5 Germany France USA

* first nine months of 2009 onlySource: EVCA/PEREP_Analytics

Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Funds closed by Number Average Number Average Number Averagefund stage focus Amount of funds fund size Amount of funds fund size Amount of funds fund size

Growth 1,675 8 209 3,298 11 300 269 4 67

Buyout 56,361 60 939 54,423 52 1,047 8,530 13 656

Mezzanine 4,212 6 702 419 3 140 174 2 87

Independent buyoutfunds raised 62,248 74 841 58,140 66 881 8,973 19 472


19

About half the funds that reached final closings in Q1-Q3 2009 were managed from the UK (up from one-third in 2007

and 2008), accounting for 68% of the total amount raised in Europe. Southern Europe came next, accounting for 16%

of the total number of European funds with final closings. France and the Nordic region each accounted for 11% of

the European total, while all other regions only represented 5% each. This was a significant decline for the DACH

region, which had accounted for about 20% of the total number of funds at final closing in 2007 and 2008.

Most funds reaching final closing so far in 2009 fall into the €50m-€149m range, with an average size of €93m.

Relative to 2008 and 2007, the distribution of final closings in 2009 was more concentrated in the lower end of the

fund size range. Almost half the funds with final closings in the first three quarters of 2009 were sub-€149m, compared

with slightly over one-third in 2008 and less than one-fifth in 2007.

As expected, fewer funds were closed in almost all the size ranges in 2009 than in the previous two years. Two sub-

€50m funds, raising a total of €85m, reached final closings in Q1-Q3 2009, compared with seven funds in 2008.

Similarly, only two large (€500m-€1bn) and two mega funds (€1bn-plus) were closed in the higher end of the market

– significantly down on the eight large and 14 mega funds raised in 2008. Note that the two mega funds with final

closings in 2009 raised only 10%-20% of their total size in the course of this year; most of their capital was raised in

2008. These two funds were established in the UK and France. In other regions, most funds with final closings fell into

the €50m-€149m and €250m-€499m size brackets.




2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

35%

11%

14%

19%

2008 2009*


n CEE region

n DACH region

n France

n Nordic region

n Southern Europe

n UK and Ireland

3% 1%

18%

33%

8%

18%

21%

3%

12%

47%

16%

11%

5%

11%

5%5%

5%

Figure 9: Fund closings by region - % number of funds

% o

f num

ber o

f fun

ds c

lose

d

20

Of the 159 funds that reached final closings throughout 2007-Q3 2009, most funds (139) had no sector focus.

Most of the funds with a sector focus were pure buyout funds (70%).

In 2007, most funds closed with a focus on consumer products, services & retail, while in 2008, ICT and business &

industrial products & services were the main sectors. In the first nine months of 2009, only one fund had a specific

sector focus: financial services. In many ways, this can be perceived as a high risk investment strategy. Therefore, the

fact that only one fund closed with a specific sector focus shows that sophisticated investors perceive investment

opportunities through buyouts even in the most challenging environment.

Table 5: Funds closed by sector focus





2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%11%

18%

27%

2008 2009*

n >=€1bn

n €500m-€999m

n €250m-€499m

n €150m-€249m

n €50m-€149m

n <€50m

9%

18%

18%

11%

14%

17%

26%

21%

12%

11%

5%

26%

37%

11%

11%

Figure 10: Final closings by fund size range

% o

f num

ber o

f fun

ds

Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Funds closed by Number Average Number Average Number Averagesector focus Amount of funds fund size Amount of funds fund size Amount of funds fund size

Agriculture, chemicalsand materials 24 1 24 0 0 0 0 0 0

Business and industrialproducts and services 83 2 42 127 3 42 0 0 0

Consumer products,services and retail 2,613 4 653 50 1 50 0 0 0

Energy and environment 200 1 200 0 0 0 0 0 0

Financial services 0 0 0 116 1 116 575 1 575

ICT 523 1 523 980 4 245 0 0 0

Life sciences 0 0 0 1,000 1 1,000 0 0 0

Generalist 58,806 65 905 55,867 56 998 8,398 18 467

Independent buyoutfunds raised 62,248 74 841 58,140 66 881 8,973 19 472


21

3.2. Investments

3.2.1. Overview

Industry statistics – by location of private equity firm

Investments by European private equity houses were highest in 2007 (€65bn) and started declining

thereafter to reach only €11bn in 2009, a 76% decrease on 2008. Overall, European private equity houses

invested €123bn over the period 2007-Q3 2009, in 4,660 companies (8), regardless of their location.

The average investment per company was €26m.

Historically, 2007 clearly stands out as a record year for investments by European private equity houses

(€65bn). Second was 2006, with €54bn invested, followed by 2008 with €47bn. Before the onset of the credit

crunch, the buyout market experienced significant growth, with a year-on-year growth rate of nearly 30%

between 2002 and 2007.

The financial crisis and worsening economic environment clearly took its toll in terms of reduced investment

levels in the buyout market in 2008 and 2009. However, although the total amount invested in buyout

transactions by European private equity houses in 2008 was about 30% lower than in 2007, it still represented

the third-highest year on record. The slowdown of investment in the first nine months of 2009 was more

pronounced, as the total invested came to €11bn – about a quarter of the full-year 2008 investment value.


(8) Throughout this paper “total amount invested” refers to investments in buyout, growth, rescue/turnaround and replacement capital.

Figure 11: Investments by European private equity houses - evolution



1999

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

€ bi

llion

14 15 1218 21

2734

54

65

47

11

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*

22

Although the average investment amount per company decreased from €37m in 2007 to €25m in 2008 and

€11m in 2009, investment activity in terms of number of companies financed resisted the economic conditions

better. The number of companies financed in 2008 was actually slightly higher than the number of businesses

that received financing in 2007. In the first nine months of 2009, the number of companies invested in was just

over half the 2008 total.

Market statistics – by location of portfolio company

In line with the trend noticed in the industry statistics, 2007 was also a peak year by location of the target,

with €62bn invested. In 2008, investment declined by 27%, to €45bn, and then decreased even further to

only €11bn in the first nine months of 2009 (-77%). Throughout 2007-Q3 2009, €118bn was invested in

more than 4,650 European companies. This resulted in an average amount invested per company of

€25m. Most of the amount (71%) came from private equity houses located in the same country as the

portfolio company. Another 26% was provided by non-domestic European private equity firms, while the

remainder came from outside Europe.

In the first nine months of 2009, €11bn was invested in 993 European companies, with an average amount

invested per company of €11m. Total investment in Q1-Q3 2009 represented about a quarter of the €45bn

invested into Europe in the whole of 2008, but about half of the 1,942 companies invested in – meaning that

more smaller deals were done. Although total buyout investment value in 2008 was lower than the record level

reached in 2007 (€62bn), the number of companies invested in was 13% higher – 1,942 companies received

financing in 2008 versus 1,725 in 2007.





2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

2,200

2,000

1,800

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

62

2008 2009*

45

11

Figure 12: Investments into European portfolio companies - evolution

€ bi

llion

number of com

panies

n Amont

n Number of companies

1,725

1,942

993

23

In the first three quarters of 2009, €7.5bn originated from domestic private equity houses (71%). Non-domestic

European private equity firms provided €2.8bn (27%), while firms located outside Europe provided 3.4%, up

0.4 percentage points from 2008 in terms of share percentage, but still down on the 2007 level (4.2%).

Across the years, 2008 was marked with the highest share in amount coming from domestic players, while

2007 saw the highest share originating from non-domestic European houses.

By region, the main field of investment activity in Q1-Q3 2009 was UK & Ireland (28% of the total), followed by

Belgium & The Netherlands (15%). However, in terms of number of companies financed, the DACH region took

the lead (23%). The average investment per company was highest for Belgium & The Netherlands, with €17m

per company, followed by UK & Ireland with €16m per company.


Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Geographic origin Number of Number of Number of of investments Amount % companies % Amount % companies % Amount % companies %

Domestic 41,331 66.7 1,470 85.2 33,549 73.8 1,637 84.3 7,482 70.5 858 86.4

Intra-European 18,034 29.1 233 13.5 10,554 23.2 282 14.5 2,771 26.1 125 12.6

Outside Europe 2,628 4.2 22 1.3 1,341 3.0 23 1.2 357 3.4 10 1.0

Total investment 61,993 100.0 1,725 100.0 45,445 100.0 1,942 100.0 10,610 100.0 993 100.0


Table 6: Investments by geographic origin

Figure 13: Average investment size per company by region

Belgiumand The

Netherlands

50

40

30

20

10

0CEE

regionDACHregion

France Nordicregion

n 2007

n 2008

n 2009*

SouthernEurope

UKand Ireland

€ m

illion



24

In both 2007 and 2008, the DACH region came second in terms of amount invested, right after UK & Ireland.

However, by number of companies financed in 2008, France came first, with 24% of the European total,

followed by the DACH region, with 21% of the total. In 2007, France and the DACH region came in second

(21%) and third (17%) – UK & Ireland topped the list, recording 24% of companies financed.

Table 7: Investments by region

3.2.2. Stages of financing

During the period 2007-Q3 2009, €96bn was invested in pure buyouts – 82% of the total invested capital – in nearly

2,700 companies. Growth capital came second with €15bn – 13% of the total – invested in 1,460 companies.

In the first nine months of 2009, investment amounts were spread more evenly across stages than in the previous two

years, as only 53% went to pure buyouts, compared with more than 80% in 2007 and 2008. Growth capital and

replacement capital were more resistant to the crisis and experienced a slower decline in value than pure buyouts.

The reason for this was the increase in equity-financed deals due to the slump in debt availability, and the restructuring

of balance sheets. The proportion of growth capital in the total amount invested increased for two years in a row,

accounting for 27% of the total invested so far in 2009, compared with 16% in 2008 and only 8% in 2007.

The value of growth capital investments was down 40% on the level seen for the whole of 2007 to the first nine

months of 2009. However, the number of companies receiving growth financing went up by 46%. In 2009, the number

of businesses receiving growth capital actually surpassed the number of companies involved in buyout transactions.

Replacement capital not only took a larger share of the total investment pie in Q1-Q3 2009 (18%) but also registered

a 15% increase in the amount invested from its full-year 2008 level, reaching €1.9bn. This upward trend was driven

by refinancing deals, which increased more than threefold from their 2008 level, to €1.3bn. However, by number of

companies, replacement capital remained 36% below the 2008 level.

The remainder of investments went to rescue/turnaround deals, representing 2% of the total amount and 9% of all

companies financed. In terms of number of companies, 2008 saw 15% more companies receiving rescue/

turnaround financing than in 2007. The increase accelerated during the first three quarters of 2009, when nearly 40%

more companies received rescue/turnaround financing than in the whole of 2008.



% of amount % of number of companies

2007 2008 2009* 2007 2008 2009*Belgium and The Netherlands 11% 6% 15% 11% 8% 10%CEE region 2% 4% 3% 4% 4% 4%Dach region 19% 21% 12% 17% 21% 23%France 17% 18% 14% 21% 24% 19%Nordic region 10% 9% 14% 12% 12% 16%Southern Europe 12% 16% 14% 13% 11% 10%UK and Ireland 29% 26% 28% 24% 20% 19%Europe 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

* first nine months of 2009 onlySource: EVCA/PEREP_Analytics

25

In most regions, the lion’s share of investment in Q1-Q3 2009 went into buyouts. The CEE region and Belgium &

The Netherlands were the only two regions in which buyouts did not represent the majority of the amount invested.

In the CEE countries, only 13% of the total amount was invested in buyouts, while buyout investment represented

35% of the total in Belgium & The Netherlands. Most of the amount invested (41%) in Belgium & The Netherlands

went to replacement capital, while in the CEE region the majority of the investments went into growth capital (84%).

The latter reflected CEE fund managers’ shift towards growth capital transactions in a changing macroeconomic and

deal-making environment. In 2009, the average growth investment per company in CEE overtook the average buyout

investment, driven by two large growth deals that accounted for nearly three-quarters of the total amount.

By number of companies financed, the growth stage was the most active across most regions, with the exception of

France, where buyouts continued to dominate the activity (53%). Only 33% of the French companies received growth

capital, and another 13% benefited from replacement capital.


Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Stage distribution Number of Number of Number of of investments Amount % companies % Amount % companies % Amount % companies %

Growth 5,055 8.2 315 17.8 7,039 15.5 686 34.4 2,849 26.9 460 45.3

Rescue/turnaround 468 0.8 55 3.1 283 0.6 63 3.2 245 2.3 87 8.6

Replacement capital 2,301 3.7 145 8.2 1,472 3.2 169 8.5 1,917 18.1 109 10.7

Buyout 54,169 87.4 1,252 70.9 36,652 80.7 1,078 54.0 5,599 52.8 360 35.4



Table 8: Investments by stage of financing

Figure 14: Investments by region and stage in Q1-Q3 2009

Belgiumand The

Netherlands

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

14%

14%

46%

33%

7%

32%

14%

35%

9%

66%

26%

5%

13%

53%

40%

6%

37%

8%

49%53%

15%

19%

CEEregion

DACHregion

France Nordicregion

n Buyout

n Replacement capital

n Rescue/turnaround

n Growth

32%

53%3%

3%

13%

2%

SouthernEurope

UKand Ireland

% o

f num

ber o

f com

pani

es


26

Deals that took place in 2008 and 2009 were, on average, significantly smaller than the average investment in 2007.

As can be seen from figure 15, this applied across most stages, with replacement capital being the exception.

The average rescue/turnaround investment per company experienced the steepest decline between 2007 and 2008,

falling 47% to €4.5m. In 2009, the average investment size dropped further, to €2.8m. This significant decrease may

be an indicator that investors are generally more cautious with such transactions and also structure them so as to

prevent losses in case of unsuccessful deals.

The average buyout investment in 2008 was 20% lower than in 2007, at €34m. However, in 2009, average deal size

was less than half of the 2008 value, at €16m. Besides a drop in valuations, this decline is also due to the almost

complete disappearance of large and mega buyout deals from the investment scene in 2009 and the subsequent

concentration of activity in the small and medium-sized deal range.

Replacement capital was the only stage that registered an increase in terms of average investment per company in

2009, as compared to 2007 and 2008 values, reflecting the fact that more refinancing deals were completed, and at

a higher value.



Figure 15: Average investment size by stage of financing - 2007-Q3 2009

Growth

50

40

30

20

10

0Rescue/

turnaroundReplacement

capitalBuyout Total

investment

n 2007

n 2008

n 2009*

€ m

illion



16

10

6

9

4 3

16

9

18

43

34

16

36

23

11

27

3.2.3. Buyouts by deal size (9)

In the period 2007-Q3 2009, the total transaction value (10) for European buyouts was €348bn, while the total

amount of equity was €97bn, resulting in an average ratio of equity-to-transaction-value of 28%. Mega deals

accounted for half of the total transaction value (€173bn), followed by mid-market deals (€102bn or 29% of the

total). In terms of equity value, mid-market represented the largest share (€39bn or 40% of the total). However, by

number of companies financed, small buyouts were most common (1,865 companies or 68% of the total), while

mega and large buyouts accounted for less than 3% each.

In the first nine months of 2009, mid-market deals attracted the largest part of the capital invested in buyouts (44%).

However, the vast majority of companies (89%) were small buyouts (those with a transaction value of less than €50m),

attracting 37% of the total buyout investment value, considerably higher than the share of small buyout companies

in 2008 (69% of buyouts accounting for 10% of the value) and 2007 (62%, accounting for 14% of the value).

So far in 2009 only one mega buyout (€1bn-plus) has taken place, in sharp contrast with 2007, when 51 companies

were €1bn-plus companies. With only 17 mega buyouts in 2008, the first signs of a slowdown at the highest end of

the market started to show, as the financial crisis reduced the availability of debt. This effect became even clearer in

the ratio of equity-to-transaction-value, as it doubled to 32% in 2008, from 15% in 2007.


(9) The deal sizes section only concerns pure buyout deals, so growth, rescue/turnaround and replacement capital are excluded from this breakdown.(10) Transaction value includes the contributions of all co-investors in a deal and the leverage. Therefore, the difference between private equity funds’ contribution

(“equity value”) and transaction value consists of two parts: the contributions of syndication partners other than private equity firms (such as LP co-investors,corporate co-investors, financial institutions) and leverage.

Figure 16: Equity versus transaction value by buyout deal size - Q1-Q3 2009

Small

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0Mid-market Large Mega Total buyout

n Equity value

n Transaction value

n Number ofcompanies

€ bi

llion

Number of com

panies


2.0

3.32.5

4.6

0.51.2

0.6

2.5

5.6

11.6

28

The share of equity (funds’ contribution) in the total transaction

value increased through 2008 and 2009 for all deal size ranges.

Buyouts within the €500m-€1bn transaction size bracket had an

average ratio of about 30% in 2007, and this increased to almost

40% in the first nine months of 2009. Mid-market deals’ (between

€50m and €500m) average ratio of 35% in 2007 came up to 54%

in 2009. The equity-to-transaction-value ratio of small deals (sub-

€50m) went up from an average of 44% in 2007 to more than 60%

in the first three quarters of 2009.

3.2.4. Sector overview

Over the period 2007-Q3 2009, business & industrial products

attracted the majority of capital (17%). Consumer goods & retail and

communications ranked second and third by amount, accounting

for 14% and 12% respectively. By number of companies, business

& industrial products again took first place, accounting for one-fifth

of all companies financed, followed by consumer goods & retail

(15%) and business & industrial services (12%).

In the first nine months of 2009, investment across sectors was

more evenly distributed than in 2008 and 2007, with six sectors

attracting over €1bn each: business & industrial products; business

& industrial services; communications; consumer goods & retail;

consumer services; and life sciences. These sectors together

accounted for nearly 70% of the total amount invested and a similar

share percentage of the total number of companies.

In Q1-Q3 2009, consumer services dominated the ranking,

attracting 14% of the total amount, despite financing only 9% of all

companies. A company in this sector attracted €17m on average.

At a regional level, the amount dedicated to consumer services mainly

went to Belgium & The Netherlands (46% of the European total).

In terms of number of companies, business & industrial products

was the most targeted sector, with 17% of all companies. The average

investment per company amounted to only €7m in this sector.

Most of these companies were located in the DACH region (39% of

the European total).

The computer & consumer electronics recorded 10% of deals by

number, with each deal attracting an average of €7m – similar to

the financing attracted on average by companies in the business &

industrial products sector. Most computer & consumer electronics

companies that attracted financing were in the Nordic region (26%

of the European total).


3. Evolution of Buyout Activity 2007 - Q3 2009Am

ount

s in

€m

2007

2008

Q1-Q

3 20

09

Amou

ntTr

ans-

Amou

ntTr

ans-

Amou

ntTr

ans-

Buyo

uts

split

by

(e

quity

Num

ber o

fac

tion

(equ

ityNu

mbe

r of

actio

n(e

quity

Num

ber o

f ac

tion

inve

stm

ent s

ize

valu

e)%

com

pani

es%

valu

e%

valu

e)%

com

pani

es%

valu

e%

valu

e)%

com

pani

es%

valu

e%

Smal

l5,

436

10.0

792

62.2

12,3

085.

15,

209

14.2

751

68.6

10,8

0611

.22,

048

36.6

322

89.0

3,35

028

.9

Mid

-mar

ket

18,8

1834

.738

230

.053

,429

22.3

17,2

8347

.030

728

.143

,913

45.5

2,47

544

.237

10.2

4,56

739

.3

Larg

e9,

298

17.2

483.

831

,989

13.4

5,23

114

.219

1.7

13,2

2113

.745

18.

12

0.6

1,22

910

.6

Meg

a20

,616

38.1

514.

014

1,75

759

.29,

029

24.6

171.

628

,569

29.6

625

11.2

10.

32,

461

21.2

Tota

l buy

out

54,1

6910

0.0

1,25

210

0.0

239,

483

100.

036

,752

100.

01,

078

100.

096

,509

100.

05,

599

100.

036

210

0.0

11,6

0610

0.0

Sour

ce: E

VCA/

PERE

P_An

alyt

ics

Tab

le 9

: Buy

out

s b

y d

eal s

ize

rang

e

29

In 2008, business & industrial products attracted most of the financing, both in terms of amount (19%) and number

of companies financed (20%). The average investment per company in this sector was €22m. Consumer goods &

retail ranked second, accounting for 14% of the total amount invested and 15% of the total number of companies

financed, with a €21m-per-company average. In terms of amount, communications came third (10%), while business

& industrial services was third in terms of number of companies financed (11%).

The sectoral trend in 2008 was similar to 2007, although the average investment per company was overall

considerably higher in 2007 (€36m) than in 2008 (€23m). Of the top three sectors, the largest difference in averages

was in the communications sector, where the average investment per company in 2008 was just over half that of 2007

(€33m versus €62m).

The decrease in the average investment size per company from 2007 to 2009 was largest in real estate, agriculture,

construction and chemicals & materials, each of which reduced by more than 80%. Energy & environment experienced

the smallest change (a drop of 12%) in the average size of investment from 2007 to 2009. However, this was due to

a surge in investments in this sector during 2008 that was not replicated in 2009.

By number of companies, it was computer & consumer electronics that experienced the smallest decline in deals from

2007 to the end of September 2009, falling from 116 to 103 companies.


Figure 17: Average investment size per company by sector

Agriculture

Business and industrial products

Business and industrial services

Chemicals and materials

Communications

Computer and consumer electronics

Construction

Consumer goods and retail

Consumer services: other

Energy and environment

Financial services

Life sciences

Real estate

Transportation

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

n 2007 n 2008 n 2009*



€ million

30

1. Consumer services - close-up

In 2007, the activity in consumer services was almost entirely prompted by buyouts, both by amount (95%) and

by number of companies (77%). In 2008, growth capital investment more than doubled, and accounted for a

quarter of the total invested and more than one third of the number of companies financed. In the first 9 months

of 2009, the share of growth capital in the total decreased to less than one fifth by amount invested, but by number

of businesses it represented about half of the total. The amount invested in replacement capital increased by

50% from the full-year 2008 level, to €334m.

2. Business & industrial products - close-up

In the period Q1-Q3 2009, the amount invested in business & industrial products was mostly driven by

replacement capital (38%), while in terms of number of companies financed, growth capital accounted for the

lion’s share (36%). The average replacement capital investment per company in 2009 nearly doubled to €21m,

three times the average across stages.

3. Consumer goods & retail - close-up

In the period Q1-Q3 2009, buyouts accounted for 42% by amount and 40% by value of companies financed in

this sector. Nevertheless, the share of growth funding increased on 2008, taking on a substantial share in amount

(36%) and in number of companies financed (39%). The trend towards growth financing in this sector took off in

2008, when one-third of the companies active in consumer goods & retail received growth capital.

4. Communications - close-up

Although on average, 82% of financing went into buyout deals over the years, we saw a rise in the number of

growth financings. In 2007, 25% of the companies active in communications received growth capital, growing

through 2008 to reach more than half of the companies (51%) in 2009 so far.

5. Energy & environment - close-up

The energy & environment sector had a peak year in 2008, when buyouts accounted for 88% of the amount

invested. The share of buyout investment was considerably lower in 2007 and Q1-Q3 2009. Growth drove energy

& environment investment in 2007, while most of the amount invested in 2009 was replacement capital (41%).

6. Life sciences - close-up

Life sciences investments had a consistent profile over the years, being mainly driven by buyouts (80% of the

amount on average), although from 2008 onwards, the share of companies receiving growth capital grew

significantly (to 47% of all companies on average for 2008-2009).

3.2.5. Initial versus follow-on investments (11)

This section considers initial investments by two approaches: initial investment for the company, being the first time a

company is financed by a private equity house; and initial investment for the private equity firm, where the portfolio

company is a new investment target for the private equity firm. Follow-on investments reflect portfolio companies that

get add-on rounds of financing from a private equity firm, regardless of whether or not that firm has already invested

in this company.


(11) Percentages are calculated on the amounts for which the breakdown was known.


31

In the period 2007-Q3 2009, most companies experienced their first private equity backing ever, although the share

of follow-on investments increased in 2008 and became more pronounced in the first nine months of this year.

During the first three quarters of 2009, for the first time, follow-on investments overtook initial investments, both in

terms of amount (55%) and number of companies financed (59%). The average amount invested per company was

€10m for follow-on deals, while companies receiving their initial backing received €12m on average.

Compared with previous years, there was a drop in new targets for private equity firms in the first three quarters of

2009 (50% compared to 70% in 2007 and 68% in 2008), confirming private equity houses’ willingness to support their

portfolio companies with add-on financing in difficult economic times.

While in 2008 most companies received private equity investment for the first time (55%), this share was already six

percentage points lower than in 2007. The average initial investment in 2008 was €26m, down from €37m in 2007.

In 2008, total follow-on investments came to €17bn invested in 763 companies (59%), resulting in an average

investment of €22m. In 2007, a total of €20bn was allocated to follow-on investments in 668 companies, meaning

the average investment per company was considerably higher (€30m).




2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

61%

2008 2009*

n Follow-on investment for the company

n Initial for the company

l Initial for the private equity firm

39%

55%

45%

41%

59%

Figure 18: Initial versus follow-on investments - % of number of companies

% o

f num

ber o

f com

pani

es

32

So far in 2009, Southern European companies have received more initial backing than their counterparts in other

regions, with an average initial investment per company of €23m. By contrast, companies domiciled in Belgium &

The Netherlands received significantly more follow-on financing, averaging €20m per company.

3.2.6. Investment syndication

Most of the deals done in the period 2007-Q3 2009 (60% of the amount invested and 71% of number of deals) were

not syndicated. Syndicated deals recorded a higher average investment per company (€34m) than non-syndicated

deals (€21m).

In Q1-Q3 2009, syndicated deals were even rarer, with 72% of financings (attracting 63% of the amount invested)

being non-syndicated. This may indicate that it is more difficult to find a syndication partner during the current crisis

period, or it may be due to the fact that the deals completed so far this year are smaller. In 2009, syndicated deals

had an average investment per company of €14m, 33% higher than non-syndicated deals (€9m). Most syndicated

deals had only one co-investor (57%), while just over a third had between two and four co-investors (36%) and only

a minority involved more than five co-investors (7%).

In the period 2007-Q3 2009, 44% of the amount invested in buyouts was syndicated, while only 23% of the amount

invested in growth deals was syndicated. Across the years, syndication of buyouts remained stable percentage-wise.

Growth deals, on the other hand showed a decrease in terms of amount, as only a 13% share was syndicated in the

first nine months of 2009 compared to about 25% in both 2007 and 2008.



Figure 19: Initial versus follow-on investments by region - Q1-Q3 2009

Belgiumand The

Netherlands

25

20

15

10

5

0CEE

regionDACHregion

France Nordicregion

n Initial for the company

n Follow-on investmentfor the company

n Initial for the privateequity firm

SouthernEurope

UKand Ireland

€ m

illion


Average investment per company

33

At a regional level, syndication was most common in France, where more than half of the total amount invested

was syndicated. The highest amount invested per company for syndicated deals was registered in Southern Europe,

at €26m on average per company. Companies domiciled in UK & Ireland and Belgium & The Netherlands attracted

an average of €14m per non-syndicated deal, the largest average recorded across Europe’s regions.

In the CEE region, the average non-syndicated investment was higher than its syndicated counterpart, due to two

large growth deals that were not syndicated. In the Nordic region, the number of non-syndicated deals was triple that

of syndicated deals.




2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

43%

2008 2009*

n Syndication

n No syndication

57%

45%

55%

43%

57%

Figure 20: Syndication by stage

% o

f am

ount

Buyout deals

2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

25%

2008 2009*

75%

24%

76%

13%

87%

% o

f am

ount

Growth deals

34

Non-syndicated deals represented the majority in both 2007 and 2008, accounting for 59% of the amount invested

and 70% of deals by number of companies in both years. The average deal size per company for syndicated deals

was €31m in 2008, while non-syndicated deals attracted an average of €19m. In line with the overall amount invested

being 27% higher in 2007, the average investment per company for syndicated deals was €48m, while non-

syndicated deals averaged €30m.

3.2.7. Investments by number of employees

In the period 2007-Q3 2009, 59% of European companies financed by buyout houses were SMEs (companies with

<250 employees), attracting an average investment of €8m, although nearly 60% of the amount invested went to

companies employing more than 1,000 people.

In 2009 so far, SMEs have accounted for 67% of deals, a greater share than in 2008 (61%) and 2007 (53%). In line

with the overall trends in the market, the average amount invested per SME decreased in the past two years, with an

average of €4m invested in Q1-Q3 2009 – the amount invested per SME in 2007-2008 was at least double that.



Figure 21: Syndicated versus non-syndicated deals by region - Q1-Q3 2009

Belgiumand The

Netherlands

30

25

20

15

10

5

0CEE

regionDACHregion

France Nordicregion

n Syndication

n No syndication

SouthernEurope

UK and Ireland

€ m

illion


14

10

5 5 5

7 7

109

10

14

22 22

26

Average investment per company

35

3.3. Divestments

3.3.1. Overview

In 2007, a total of €21bn was divested at cost from over 1,000 companies. In 2008, the total value divested, at

€11bn, represented only half of the 2007 level, however the number of companies exited declined by only 15%,

to 921. Divestments continued to decrease during the first three quarters of 2009, when only €5bn at cost was

realised from 418 companies. During the whole period, €37bn was realised at cost from divesting from European

companies. In total, over 2,400 companies were exited, of which 24% were trade sales, accounting for the

highest amount divested at cost. Secondary sales represented 17% of the total number of companies exited,

accounting for €11bn at cost (30% of the total). Repayment of preference shares/loans was the third-most

popular exit method.

In 2008 and 2009, the divestment window closed considerably due to the asset re-pricing triggered by the financial

crisis. As a result, private equity divestment activity slowed down significantly. Buyout houses chose to delay exits and

instead focused on various operational performance-improving activities to help companies weather the difficult

economic conditions.

In the first three quarters of 2009, only €4.8bn was realised at cost from 418 companies across Europe. Divestments had

already tailed off in 2008, to almost half their 2007 amount, although the number of companies exited only fell by 15%.

The strong decline in exits was evident in almost all regions, apart from CEE, where realisations fell by only 20%.

Divestments in UK & Ireland and the DACH region accounted for nearly half of the total amount exited at cost in

Europe in 2008.




2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

14%

2008 2009*

n Up to 250employees (SMEs)

n 250-1000employees

n Over 1000employees

24%

62%

21%

21%

58%

25%

35%

40%

Figure 22: Investments by number of employees

% of amount % of number of companies

2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

53%

2008 2009*

27%

20%

60%

25%

15%

67%

20%

13%

36

In the first nine months of 2009, most European companies were divested by private equity houses located in the

DACH region (42%). In terms of amount divested at cost, UK players divested the most (46%), followed by Southern

European private equity firms (17%) and French houses (13%).





2007

25

20

15

10

5

0

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

2008 2009*

n Amount

n Number of companies

Figure 23: Divestments at cost - evolution

€ bi

llion

21

11

5

1,080

921

418


% of amount at cost

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

9%

17%

7%

13%

9%

% of number of companies


n CEE region

n DACH region

n France

n Nordic region

n Southern Europe

n UK and Ireland

n USA

4%

1% 1%

9%

21%

46%

42%

1%

11%

9%

Figure 24: Divestments by location of the private equity firm - Q1-Q3 2009

Number of com

panies

37

In 2008, UK players were responsible for not only the greatest number of divestments, but also the bulk of amount

divested at cost, while French houses came second in terms of amount. In 2007, private equity firms in the DACH

region sold the most companies.

3.3.2. Divestments by exit method

Similar to other parts of the economy, one of the effects of the economic crisis on the buyout segment was an

increase in write-offs, especially in Q1-Q3 2009. During Q1-Q3 2009, the written-off companies represented 1.3% of

the aggregate number of companies invested in over the previous five years (12), an increase of 0.2 percentage points

on 2008. Most of the write-offs occurred in companies that were initially financed with growth capital (47%), while 39%

of the companies were initially backed through a buyout.

Write-offs aside, trade sales achieved the highest amount divested at cost, representing 24% of the Q1-Q3 2009 total

with 75 realised companies.

During Q1-Q3 2009, secondary sales saw a dramatic drop; their share of amount divested at cost fell to just 9%,

versus a third in 2007-2008. However, sales to other private equity players picked up again in Q3 of 2009 and more

than doubled on their Q2 2009 level.

With the IPO window practically slammed shut in 2008, only three IPOs were registered that year and only one

buyout-backed company has gone public so far in 2009 (in Q3 2009).


(12) This is the approach used to estimate the number of portfolio companies held by buyout firms.



2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

10%

14%

6%

16%

2008 2009*

n Trade sale

n IPO

n Sale of quoted equity

n Write-off

n Repayment of silent partnerships

n Repayment of principal loans

n Secondary sale

n Sale to financial institution

n Sale to management (MBO)

n Unknown

3%3%

2%

3%

17%

23%

6%

10%

9%

5%

13%

2%

18%

28%

7%

7%20%

13%

8%

9%

3%

10%

18%

18%

Figure 25: Divestments by exit method - % of number of companies

% o

f num

ber o

f com

pani

es

38

3.3.3. Divestments by sector (excluding write-offs)

In the period 2007-Q3 2009, €34bn was divested at cost from 2,236 European companies. Divestment activity was

highly concentrated in three sectors: business & industrial products, consumer goods & retail and business & industrial

services. Altogether, they represented 50% of both amount divested and number of companies exited.

During the first three quarters of 2009, most divestments came from companies in business & industrial products,

representing 29% of all companies exited and only 18% of the total amount at cost.

In terms of amount divested, consumer goods & retail ranked first with 28% of the total. Trade sales drove this trend,

accounting for 56% of consumer goods & retail exits by value. Business & industrial products came second with a

share of 18%, while consumer services represented 10% of the amount.

In 2008, the sectors that saw the sharpest year-on-year decrease in amount divested were agriculture, construction

and communications, with declines of 91%, 71% and 68% respectively. In Q1-Q3 2009, all sectors saw a decline,

but construction experienced the smallest decline compared to 2008 in terms of amount at cost (-40%), thanks to

secondary sales.




2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

6%

5%

7%

5%

11% 12%10%

11%

2008 2009*

n Agriculture

n Business and industrial products

n Business and industrial services

n Chemicals and materials

n Communications

n Computer and consumer electronics

n Construction

n Consumer goods and retail

n Consumer services

n Energy and environment

n Financial services

n Life sciences

n Real estate

n Transportation

n Unknown

4%

2% 1%

3%

2%

4%

17%

21%

7%

7%

6%5%

7%

1%

4%

7%

8%3%

5%5%

1%

17%

23%

5%

8%

10%

2%4%

28%

18%1%

Figure 26: Divestments by sector - % of amount

% o

f am

ount


39

3.3.4. Write-offs by sector

In Q1-Q3 2009, the three sectors where most write-offs took place were the same as the sectors most divested by

other exit routes, i.e. business & industrial products, consumer goods & retail and business & industrial services.

In terms of amount, transportation had the second-highest share (17%), right after business & industrial products

(37%). In 2008, consumer services accounted for the largest share of write-offs, with 25% of the amount.

In 2007, consumer goods & retail and consumer services each accounted for 30% of the total amount written off,

while 25% of all companies written off came from the business & industrial products sector.




2007

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

11% 37%14%

7%

14%

16%

2008 2009*

n Agriculture

n Business and industrial products

n Business and industrial services

n Chemicals and materials

n Communications

n Computer and consumer electronics

n Construction

n Consumer goods and retail

n Consumer services

n Energy and environment

n Financial services

n Life sciences

n Real estate

n Transportation

n Unknown

30%

13%

25%

7%

30%

6%

15%

1%

1%

2%17%

24%

6%

8%

4%

4%

9%

Figure 27: Write-offs by sector - % of amount

% o

f am

ount

40

4.1. Overview

As of the end of 2008, the long-term performance of the buyout industry remained robust with an overall net IRR

since inception at 12.6%. Large buyout funds generated the highest net return of 19.2%, followed by mid-sized

funds with a 16.3% return. Mega funds achieved only 8.7% net return, the lowest among all fund sizes.

At the same time, the interim short-term performance fully reflected the impact of the crisis, with all fund sizes

recording one-year returns in the negative territory. Mega buyout funds were most impacted registering -34.9%

net IRR, while small buyout funds were the least affected with a net return of -11%.

As of 31 December 2008, buyout funds registered an overall net pooled IRR since inception of 12.6%, down

4.1 percentage points on the IRR registered at the end of 2007.

The best-performing funds were the buyout funds in the $500m-$1bn size bracket with a net IRR of 19.2% amounting

to a drop of about 1.5 percentage points from the IRR registered at the end of 2007.

Small buyout funds (sub-$250m), which represented 63% of all funds in the sample, generated a 12.6% net IRR as

of the end of 2008, just slightly below the December 2007 level of 13.4%

At the opposite end of the buyout segment, funds above $1bn achieved an 8.7% IRR – the steepest decline

(8.3 percentage points) seen across all segments.

In terms of multiples, the TVPI for all buyout funds decreased from 1.53 in 2007 to 1.31 in 2008 with 0.85 being the

distributed part (DPI) and 0.46 the unrealised part (RVPI) of the multiple. The decline of 14% in TVPI from the end of

2007 to December 2008 was primarily due to a decrease in RVPI from 0.63 in 2007 to 0.46 in 2008, while DPI

changed only slightly (from 0.90 in 2007 to 0.85 in 2008).

Across fund sizes, multiples were in line with the net returns, with the slight difference that mid-market funds registered

a TVPI of 1.59, surpassing the large funds’ multiple of 1.57. Cash-on-cash returns for small and large funds (both at

75% of TVPI) were higher than for the other two fund sizes.

Table 10: Annualised net pooled IRR since inception to 31 December 2008 (Funds formed 1980-2008)


4. Buyout Performance Reported in 2009

Multiples Multiples (as % of TVPI)

Fund size Number of funds Pooled IRR DPI RVPI TVPI DPI RVPI

Small 280 12.6 1.14 0.39 1.53 75% 25%Mid-market 65 16.3 1.08 0.51 1.59 68% 32%Large 49 19.2 1.17 0.40 1.57 75% 25%Mega 50 8.7 0.71 0.47 1.18 60% 40%All buyout 444 12.6 0.85 0.46 1.31 65% 35%

Source: EVCA/Thomson Reuters

41

4.2. Top-quarter and upper-half IRR

As of the end of 2008, the net pooled IRR for the 102 buyout funds in the top quarter was 31.9%. Large buyout

funds achieved the highest top-quarter returns at 49%, followed by mid-market funds with 39.5%. Small funds

ranked third with top returns at 28.6% while mega funds came last with 26.3%.

Overall, funds had to produce a return of at least 17.5% to qualify for the top quarter. The thresholds for small and

mega buyout funds were lower, at 16.3% and 16.7% respectively. Mid-market funds had to achieve returns above

23.3% and large funds had to achieve more than 19.2%.

The 213 top-half funds achieved a net pooled IRR of 21.4% as of the end of 2008, down from 25.5% as of December

2007 and close to the 2005 level of 21.7%.

The threshold for all top-half funds was a minimum return of 7.4%. Only for mid-market funds, the median return

(11.3%) was higher than the overall median return.

Mid-market funds led in terms of net pooled IRR in the top half with a 28.6% return. Large funds came second with

a 24.4% net pooled IRR and mega funds were third with 24.0%.

Table 11: Top-quarter and upper-half net pooled IRR


Top quarter net pooled IRR Upper half net pooled IRR(Top quarter funds formed 1980-2008) (Upper half funds formed 1980-2008)

Top quarter Overall upper Upper half OverallFund size Sample size pooled IRR quartile IRR* Sample size pooled IRR median IRR**

Small 68 28.6 16.3 138 21.2 7.2

Mid-market 15 39.5 23.3 31 28.6 11.3

Large 11 49.0 19.2 24 24.4 5.5

Mega 11 26.3 16.7 17 24.0 6.2

All buyout 102 31.9 17.5 213 21.4 7.4

* Entry point that funds have to meet or exceed as return in order to become part of top-quarter funds.** Entry point that funds have to meet or exceed as return in order to become part of upper-half funds.Source: EVCA/Thomson Reuters

42

When ranking the net since-inception returns of all

funds as of the end of 2008, the following quartile

returns were obtained: upper quartile return of

17.5%; median return of 7.4%; and lower quartile

return of -2.7%. The returns registered in the

respective quarters were: 31.9% in the top quarter,

12.7% in the second quarter, 2.8% in the third

quarter and -30.6% in the lowest quarter.

4.3. Performance by vintage year groups

Overall, the highest returns were produced by funds with a vintage in the periods 1990-1994 and 2000-2004.

Large parts of these time periods were characterised by depressed economic activity, suggesting that buyout

investments during downturns generate superior performance results.

The normal life cycle of private equity funds requires at least six years to deliver significant returns. The returns in the

early years of a typical fund are generally negative, as companies are being funded and exits are only expected some

years down the line. This explains the low DPI ratios for the funds within the 2005-2008 vintage group. The impact of

the current economic downturn and, specifically, the drop in valuations is also reflected in the low IRRs of this vintage

group and especially in the strong negative returns registered by the $1bn-plus funds (-23.9%).

Nevertheless, in the 2000-2004 vintage group, funds above $1bn achieved the highest returns (21.6% IRR and 1.26 DPI).

Small buyout funds with a vintage year between 1990-1994 were more successful than other vintages, with an

18.5% return. In that same vintage group, they were surpassed by large buyout funds with 25.9% IRR and a record

2.68 cash-on-cash return.



Net pooled for the quarter

100%

75%

50%

25%

0%

17.5%

7.4%

-2.7%

Percentile Net IRR

-30.6%

2.8%

12.7%

31.9%


Figure 28: Net IRR since inception per quarter

43

Table 12: Annualised net pooled IRR by vintage years as of 31 December 2008

(Funds formed 1980-1984, 1985-1989, 1990-1994, 1995-1999, 2000-2004, 2005-2008)

4.4. Short-, medium-, and long-term returns reflected by net horizon IRRs

As of the end of 2008, buyout performance remained strong over the five- and 10-year horizons. The 10-year horizon

IRR stood at 11.1% for buyout funds overall, 0.2 percentage points higher than the five-year IRR. The three-year IRRs

were strongly impacted by the economic crisis, with buyouts overall registering net performance of 3.0% and mega

funds returning only 0.1%.

One-year returns fully reflected the negative impact of the crisis, with funds of all sizes recording negative returns.

Mega buyout funds suffered most, registering -34.9% net IRR, while small buyout funds were least affected with a

-11.0% net return.

Table 13: Horizon IRRs to 31 December 2008 (Funds formed 1980-2008)

Large funds reached the highest returns over the ten-year horizon with 18.9%, more than double their five-year

horizon. For the medium term, mid-market funds topped the ranking, with a five-year IRR of 14.3%, well above the

overall five-year return of 10.9%.


Fund size 1-year IRR 3-year IRR 5-year IRR 10-year IRR

Small -11.0 8.7 11.3 10.1Mid-market -15.4 9.2 14.3 14.8Large -19.9 7.5 9.2 18.9Mega -34.9 0.1 10.6 8.8All buyout -31.3 3.0 10.9 11.1


1980-1984 1985-1989 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2004 2005-2008Fund size IRR DPI IRR DPI IRR DPI IRR DPI IRR DPI IRR DPI

Small 9.2 1.88 10.5 1.60 18.5 1.95 8.1 1.07 13.6 1.01 0.5 0.18

Mid-market 17.8 1.69 8.5 1.22 32.0 1.64 19.0 1.15 3.3 0.17

Large 25.9 2.68 16.7 1.53 13.0 0.94 -0.2 0.14

Mega 11.2 1.34 21.6 1.26 -23.9 0.11

All buyout 9.2 1.88 13.6 1.65 18.7 2.04 12.6 1.34 19.1 1.19 -19.1 0.12


44



n Small n Mid-market n Large n Mega n All buyout


1991

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0

-10%

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

%

Figure 29: Five-and 10-year rolling IRRs19

91

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0

-10%

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

%

Five-year rolling IRRs

10-year rolling IRRs

45

4.5. Performance by sector

Of the 444 funds in the sample, 36% had a specific sector focus. Industrial/energy funds achieved the highest net

since-inception returns as of 2008 (23.1%), with consumer-related funds ranked second (20.8% IRR, down 1.6 percentage

points from 2007).

Table 14: Performance by sector focus


No funds IRR to IRR to IRR to IRR to IRR to Sector focus in sample Dec 2008 Dec 2007 Dec 2006 Dec 2005 Dec 2004

Consumer related 34 20.8 22.4 22.8 22.7 22.3

ICT 31 5.2 10.6 11.9 12.6 12.9

Industrial/energy 25 23.1 23.8 23.9 23.6 23.1

Life sciences 19 6.7 9.3 9.3 6.4 6.4

Other 53 14.9 18.2 18.3 13.7 8.7


46

5.1. Fundraising

Funds raised - industry statistics - INCREMENTAL CLOSINGS DURING YEAR

Funds raised - industry statistics - FINAL CLOSINGS IN THE YEAR BY INDEPENDENT FUNDS -

CUMULATIVE AMOUNT RAISED SINCE INCEPTION


5. Appendix

Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Funds raised by source Amount % Amount % Amount %

Independent funds raised 64,311 97.5 68,989 99.4 5,630 98.5Amount raised by captives 991 1.5 232 0.3 79 1.4New funds raised 65,302 99.0 69,221 99.7 5,709 99.9Realised capital gains 640 1.0 177 0.3 7 0.1Total buyout funds raised 65,943 100.0 69,397 100.0 5,716 100.0

Funds raised by fund stage focus

Growth capital 1,694 2.6 3,708 5.3 541 9.5Buyout 59,212 89.8 64,711 93.2 5,045 88.2Mezzanine 5,037 7.6 979 1.4 130 2.3Total buyout funds raised 65,943 100.0 69,397 100.0 5,716 100.0

Geographic sources of funds raised

Within Europe 36,088 55.3 34,985 50.3 5,093 89.2Outside Europe 29,214 44.7 34,236 49.7 616 10.8New buyout funds raised 65,302 100.0 69,221 100.0 5,709 100.0


Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Breakdown by Number of Average Number of Average Number of Averagefund sizes Amount funds fund size Amount funds fund size Amount funds fund size

<50 226 8 28 166 7 24 85 2 4350-149 757 7 108 1,497 17 88 652 7 93150-249 2,259 13 174 1,610 9 179 217 1 0250-499 6,643 20 332 3,641 11 331 1,678 5 336500-999 7,795 13 600 5,364 8 671 1,240 2 620>=1000 44,568 13 3,428 45,862 14 3,276 5,100 2 2,550Total buyoutfunds closed 62,248 74 841 58,140 66 881 8,973 19 472


47

Fun

ds

rais

ed -

ind

ustr

y st

atis

tics

- F

INA

L C

LOS

ING

S IN

TH

E Y

EA

R B

Y IN

DE

PE

ND

EN

T F

UN

DS

-

CU

MU

LAT

IVE

AM

OU

NT

RA

ISE

D S

INC

E IN

CE

PT

ION


Amou

nts

in €

m20

0720

08Q1

-Q3

2009

Num

ber

Aver

age

Num

ber

Aver

age

Num

ber

Aver

age

Fund

s ra

ised

by

fund

sta

ge fo

cus

Am

ount

of fu

nds

fund

siz

eAm

ount

of fu

nds

fund

siz

eAm

ount

of fu

nds

fund

siz

e

Grow

th1,

675

820

93,

298

1130

026

94

67

Buyo

ut56

,361

6093

954

,423

521,

047

8,53

013

656

Mez

zani

ne4,

212

670

241

93

140

174

287

Inde

pend

ent b

uyou

t fun

ds ra

ised

62,2

4874

841

58,1

4066

881

8,97

319

472

Fund

s ra

ised

by

fund

sec

tora

l foc

us

Agric

ultu

re, c

hem

ical

s an

d m

ater

ials

241

240

00

00

0

Busi

ness

and

indu

stria

l pro

duct

s an

d se

rvic

es83

242

127

342

00

0

Cons

umer

pro

duct

s, s

ervic

es a

nd re

tail

2,61

34

653

501

500

00

Ener

gy a

nd e

nviro

nmen

t20

01

200

00

00

00

Fina

ncia

l ser

vices

00

011

61

116

575

157

5

ICT

523

152

398

04

245

00

0

Life

sci

ence

s0

00

1,00

01

1,00

00

00

Gene

ralis

t58

,806

6590

555

,867

5699

88,

398

1846

7

Inde

pend

ent b

uyou

t fun

ds ra

ised

62,2

4874

841

58,1

4066

881

8,97

319

472

Sour

ce: E

VCA/

PERE

P_An

alyt

ics

48

5.2. Investments


5. Appendix

Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Stage distribution Number of Number of Number of of investments Amount % companies % Amount % companies % Amount % companies %

Growth 5,055 8.2 315 17.8 7,039 15.5 686 34.4 2,849 26.9 460 45.3

Rescue/turnaround 468 0.8 55 3.1 283 0.6 63 3.2 245 2.3 87 8.6

Replacement capital 2,301 3.7 145 8.2 1,472 3.2 169 8.5 1,917 18.1 109 10.7

Buyout 54,169 87.4 1,252 70.9 36,652 80.7 1,078 54.0 5,599 52.8 360 35.4


Sectoral distribution of investments

Agriculture 349 0.6 9 0.5 92 0.2 12 0.6 61 0.6 13 1.3

Business and industrialproducts 9,817 15.8 347 20.1 8,577 18.9 385 19.8 1,252 11.8 173 17.4

Business and industrialservices 7,828 12.6 231 13.4 4,238 9.3 219 11.3 1,181 11.1 114 11.5

Chemicals and materials 2,581 4.2 59 3.4 2,764 6.1 57 2.9 222 2.1 27 2.7

Communications 8,416 13.6 136 7.9 4,722 10.4 145 7.5 1,217 11.5 86 8.7

Computer and consumerelectronics 2,315 3.7 116 6.7 2,399 5.3 164 8.4 728 6.9 103 10.4

Construction 3,110 5.0 59 3.4 1,845 4.1 67 3.5 242 2.3 28 2.8

Consumer goodsand retail 8,747 14.1 267 15.5 6,307 13.9 295 15.2 1,178 11.1 137 13.8

Consumer services:other 6,789 11.0 149 8.6 3,074 6.8 151 7.8 1,461 13.8 88 8.9

Energy and environment 1,153 1.9 59 3.4 4,141 9.1 92 4.7 668 6.3 39 3.9

Financial services 2,946 4.8 74 4.3 2,141 4.7 68 3.5 565 5.3 29 2.9

Life sciences 4,675 7.5 132 7.7 3,648 8.0 162 8.3 1,047 9.9 81 8.2

Real estate 98 0.2 6 0.3 14 0.0 6 0.3 14 0.1 7 0.7

Transportation 3,028 4.9 70 4.1 1,225 2.7 71 3.7 462 4.4 27 2.7

Unknown 140 0.2 11 0.6 259 0.6 48 2.5 313 2.9 41 4.1


Subtotal high-tech 2,538 4.1 94 5.4 2,568 5.7 124 6.4 398 3.7 96 9.5

Syndication of investments

No syndication 36,747 59.3 1,245 70.4 26,961 59.3 1,404 70.0 6,732 63.4 727 72.1

Syndication 25,246 40.7 524 29.6 18,483 40.7 601 30.0 3,878 36.6 282 27.9


Initial vs. follow-on

Initial for the company 37,788 61.0 1,034 57.4 24,138 53.1 931 45.7 4,590 43.3 388 38.3

Follow-on investmentfor the company 19,937 32.2 668 37.1 16,763 36.9 763 37.5 5,664 53.4 548 54.2

Unknown 4,269 6.9 100 5.5 4,544 10.0 341 16.8 356 3.4 76 7.5


Initial for the privateequity firm 43,747 70.6 1,111 64.4 31,299 68.9 1,136 58.5 6,086 57.4 477 48.0


Investments - market statistics (by country of portfolio company)

49


Amounts in €m 2007 2008 Q1-Q3 2009

Geographic source Number of Number of Number of of investments Amount % companies % Amount % companies % Amount % companies %

Domestic 41,331 66.7 1,470 85.2 33,549 73.8 1,637 84.3 7,482 70.5 858 86.4

Intra-European 18,034 29.1 233 13.5 10,554 23.2 282 14.5 2,771 26.1 125 12.6

Outside Europe 2,628 4.2 22 1.3 1,341 3.0 23 1.2 357 3.4 10 1.0



Investments - market statistics (by country of portfolio company) continued

Amounts in €m 2007

Buyouts split Amount Number of Transactionby investment size (equity value) % companies % value %

Small 5,436 10.0 792 62.2 12,308 5.1

Mid-market 18,818 34.7 382 30.0 53,429 22.3

Large 9,298 17.2 48 3.8 31,989 13.4

Mega 20,616 38.1 51 4.0 141,757 59.2

Total buyout 54,169 100.0 1,252 100.0 239,483 100.0

Amounts in €m 2008


Small 5,209 14.2 751 68.6 10,806 11.2

Mid-market 17,283 47.0 307 28.1 43,913 45.5

Large 5,231 14.2 19 1.7 13,221 13.7

Mega 9,029 24.6 17 1.6 28,569 29.6

Total buyout 36,752 100.0 1,078 100.0 96,509 100.0

Amounts in €m Q1-Q3 2009


Small 2,048 36.6 322 89.0 3,350 28.9

Mid-market 2,475 44.2 37 10.2 4,567 39.3

Large 451 8.1 2 0.6 1,229 10.6

Mega 625 11.2 1 0.3 2,461 21.2

Total buyout 5,599 100.0 362 100.0 11,606 100.0


Investments - market statistics (by country of portfolio company)

50


5. Appendix

5.3. Divestments

Div

estm

ents

- b

y co

untr

y o

f p

ort

folio

co

mp

any

Amou

nts

in €

m20

0720

08Q1

-Q3

2009

Amou

ntNu

mbe

r of

Amou

ntNu

mbe

r of

Amou

ntNu

mbe

r of

Dive

stm

ent a

t cos

t by

exit

rout

eat

cos

t%

com

pani

es%

at c

ost

%co

mpa

nies

%at

cos

t%

com

pani

es%

Dive

stm

ent b

y tra

de s

ale

5,79

227

.627

823

.04,

144

38.0

275

27.7

1,13

823

.575

17.6

Dive

stm

ent b

y pu

blic

offe

ring

1,92

39.

166

5.5

473

4.3

181.

821

14.

314

3.3

Dive

stm

ent o

n flo

tatio

n (IP

O)88

14.

234

2.8

370.

33

0.3

10.

01

0.2

Sale

of q

uote

d eq

uity

1,04

25.

032

2.7

437

4.0

151.

521

04.

313

3.1

Dive

stm

ent b

y w

rite-

off

171

0.8

322.

751

04.

774

7.5

2,14

344

.385

20.0

Repa

ymen

t of s

ilent

par

tner

ship

s23

0.1

746.

148

0.4

717.

225

0.5

7517

.6Re

paym

ent o

f prin

cipa

l loa

ns3,

360

16.0

193

16.0

657

6.0

124

12.5

188

3.9

378.

7Sa

le to

ano

ther

priv

ate

equi

ty h

ouse

7,17

734

.121

017

.43,

389

31.1

183

18.4

418

8.6

429.

9Sa

le to

fina

ncia

l ins

titut

ion

753

3.6

705.

863

05.

854

5.4

254

5.2

92.

1Sa

le to

man

agem

ent (

MBO

)52

52.

511

69.

638

33.

599

10.0

293

6.1

5713

.4Di

vest

men

t by

othe

r mea

ns1,

295

6.2

168

13.9

672

6.2

949.

517

33.

632

7.5

Tota

l div

estm

ent

21,0

1910

0.0

1,08

010

0.0

10,9

0510

0.0

921

100.

04,

842

100.

041

810

0.0

Dive

stm

ent a

t cos

t by

com

pany

sec

tor

Agric

ultu

re16

20.

89

0.8

140.

15

0.5

00.

01

0.2

Busi

ness

and

indu

stria

l pro

duct

s4,

434

21.1

211

19.5

2,38

321

.920

221

.91,

284

26.5

126

30.1

Busi

ness

and

indu

stria

l ser

vices

2,33

911

.113

612

.61,

351

12.4

108

11.7

412

8.5

5412

.9Ch

emic

als

and

mat

eria

ls85

44.

137

3.4

529

4.8

363.

964

1.3

71.

7Co

mm

unic

atio

ns2,

221

10.6

736.

874

06.

855

6.0

220

4.5

225.

3Co

mpu

ter a

nd c

onsu

mer

ele

ctro

nics

1,03

74.

967

6.2

672

6.2

9710

.518

73.

934

8.1

Cons

truct

ion

411

2.0

504.

613

81.

335

3.8

382

7.9

184.

3Co

nsum

er g

oods

and

reta

il3,

576

17.0

157

14.5

1,84

216

.915

416

.794

819

.659

14.1

Cons

umer

ser

vices

1,50

97.

298

9.1

822

7.5

748.

045

09.

330

7.2

Ener

gy a

nd e

nviro

nmen

t1,

270

6.0

312.

945

84.

222

2.4

213

4.4

143.

3Fi

nanc

ial s

ervic

es32

51.

530

2.8

274

2.5

272.

930

0.6

30.

7Li

fe s

cien

ces

811

3.9

565.

282

87.

647

5.1

147

3.0

286.

7Re

al e

stat

e3

0.0

20.

25

0.0

50.

50

0.0

00.

0Tr

ansp

orta

tion

1,13

25.

431

2.9

762

7.0

374.

050

410

.418

4.3

Unkn

own

935

4.4

928.

586

0.8

171.

83

0.1

41.

0To

tal d

ives

tmen

t21

,019

100.

01,

080

100.

010

,905

100.

092

110

0.0

4,84

210

0.0

418

100.

0

Sour

ce: E

VCA/

PERE

P_An

alyt

ics

51


6. Methodology and Definitions

6.1. Economic environment section

6.1.1. Standard & Poor’s LCD data

• Amortising term loan (TLa or A-term loan): a term loan with a progressive repayment schedule. These loans

are normally syndicated to banks along with revolving credits as part of a larger syndication.

• Institutional term loan (B-term, C-term or D-term loans): a term-loan facility with a portion carved out for

non-bank, institutional investors. These loans are priced higher than amortising term loans because they have

longer maturities and bullet repayment schedules.

6.1.2. CMBOR data

Transactions by real estate funds and infrastructure funds are excluded from CMBOR’s data. Deals in which a private

equity firm buys property as an investment are not included. All quoted values derive from the total transaction value

of the buyout (enterprise value) and include both equity and debt.

Deal pricing

CMBOR computes the average P/E ratios for different deal value ranges by dividing the deal price by EBIT (earnings

before interest and tax).

6.2. Activity section

6.2.1. Coverage

The overall statistics for Europe include:

• Austria • Italy

• Belgium • The Netherlands

• Czech Republic • Poland

• Denmark • Portugal

• Finland • Romania

• France • Spain

• Germany • Sweden

• Hungary • Switzerland

• Norway • United Kingdom

• Ireland

52



Regions were aggregated as follows:

• Belgium & The Netherlands

• CEE (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania)

• DACH (Austria, Germany, Switzerland)

• France

• Nordic (Finland, Norway, Sweden)

• Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain)

• UK & Ireland

6.2.2. Fundraising

The funds included in the statistics are:

• buyout funds making direct private equity investments

• growth funds

• mezzanine private equity funds

• co-investment funds

• rescue/turnaround funds

The following funds are excluded from the statistics:

• venture funds

• generalist funds

• infrastructure funds

• real estate funds

• distress debt funds

• primary funds-of-funds

• secondary funds-of-funds

6.2.3. Investments

Unless stated otherwise, the approach taken in this report is market approach (so investments and divestments are

represented by location of the portfolio company).

At European level, this means investments in European companies or divestments from European companies,

regardless of the location of the private equity firm.

Buyout split

Buyout investments are split into four classes: small, mid-market, large, and mega. In this report, the classification is

based on the transaction value of the buyout deals.

Buyout breakdown by deal size Equity value (€m) Transaction value (€m)

Small < 15 < 50Mid-market 15 < X < 150 50 < X < 500Large 150 < X < 300 500 < X < 1,000Mega > 300 > 1,000

53


6.2.4. Divestments

Divestments are measured by cost of investment, not proceeds.

6.2.5. Number of companies

The number of companies represents a distinct list of entities receiving investments throughout the reporting year.

For example, if Company A receives two investments in a year, the number of companies will equal one, while the

number of investments will equal two.

In some cases, subtotals and totals may not appear to add up to the same number of companies as individual items

in the tables. This can be explained by understanding the issue of counting distinct entities.

For example, if a company received multiple distinct rounds of financing in a year – a growth investment of €30m by one

investor in January, followed by a €50m buyout in November with two investors – the tables would indicate the following:

The total number of companies corresponds to the number recorded under “Total investment”. Any one company

can be recorded under several subcategories. The sum of all subcategories can exceed the number stated under

“Total investment”. Therefore, it would appear to have incorrect totals in the number of companies (for both

investments and divestments) as the table appears to add up to 2, but the total only shows a total of 1. This will only

affect counts of companies, not amounts. However it will make any average more accurate.

6.2.6. Data updates

PEREP_Analytics offers to the players the potential to submit surveys and validate previously populated data captured

from public information sources at a later stage. Moreover, if a player submits a divestment at a later stage, and the

corresponding investment has never been reported or captured, the PEREP_Analyst will create the investment so that

no portfolio company is reflected with negative capital flow in the database. Moreover, some information is disclosed

on the website of the private equity players at a later stage, after the cut-off for producing our activity reports, and

thus is processed in the database at a later moment. For all the above reasons, figures may be updated year on year

to reflect the latest available statistics for previously released years starting with 2007.

Stage Amount Number of investments Number of companies

Growth 30,000 1 1

Buyout 50,000 2 1

Total investment 80,000 3 1

54



6.2.7. Definitions

Type of investors (fundraising figure):

• Corporate investor: Corporations that produce products (manufacturing companies) or deliver non-financial

services (it excludes banks, funds-of-funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and other asset managers).

• Endowment: An institution that is bestowed money (and possibly other assets) via a donation with the

stipulation to invest it and use the gains for specific objectives so that the principal remains intact (for

perpetuity, for a defined period of time or until sufficient assets have been accumulated to achieve a

designated purpose).

• Family office: An office that provides services to one or several families, which include investment management

and other services (accounting, tax and financial advice etc).

• Foundation: A non-profit organisation through which private wealth is contributed and distributed for public

purpose (most often charitable purposes). It can either donate funds and support other organisations, or

provide the sole source of funding for their own charitable activities.

• Fund-of-funds: A private equity fund that primarily takes equity positions in other funds.

• Other asset manager: Financial institutions (other than bank, endowment, family office, foundation, insurance

company or pension fund) managing a pool of capital by investing it across asset classes with the purpose to

generate financial returns. It may include direct private equity funds that occasionally do indirect investments,

but excludes funds-of-funds that are a stand-alone option.

• Public sector: Country, regional, governmental and European agencies or institutions (including structures

such as EBRD or EIF).

Fund stage focus (fundraising table):

• Growth fund: Funds whose strategy is to invest in or acquire relatively mature companies that are looking for

capital to expand or restructure operations. They usually represent the first private equity investment in the

company.

• Buyout fund: Funds whose strategy is to acquire other businesses.

• Mezzanine fund: Funds which provide (generally subordinated) debt to facilitate the financing of buyouts,

frequently alongside a right to some of the equity upside.

Stage definitions (investment tables):

Several financing stages can be identified in relation to the stages of development of a private-equity-backed

company. These are described as follows and were the stages included in the survey questionnaire:

• Growth: It is a type of private equity investment, most often a minority investment but not necessarily,

in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new

markets or finance a significant acquisition without a change of control of the business. As a round of financing,

growth capital tends to be the first private equity backing of the company. Additionally, most investments made

by buyout funds into venture type of stages should be defined as growth capital.

• Rescue/turnaround: Financing made available to an existing business, which has experienced trading

difficulties, with a view to re-establishing prosperity.

• Secondary purchase/replacement capital: Minority stake purchase of existing shares in a company from

another private equity investment organisation or from another shareholder or shareholders.

• Refinancing bank debt: To reduce a company’s level of gearing.

• Management buyout: Financing provided to enable current operating management and investors to acquire

existing product line or business.

55


• Management buy-in: Financing provided to enable a manager or group of managers from outside the

company to buy-in to the company with the support of private equity investors.

• Public to private: A transaction involving an offer for the entire share capital of a listed target company for the

purpose of delisting the company. Management may be involved in the offering.

• Other PIPE: A private investment in public equity as a minority or majority stake without taking the company

private.

• Other leveraged buyout: Financing provided to acquire a company (other than MBI, MBO, public to private or

other PIPE), by using significant amount of borrowed money to meet the cost of acquisition.

Mapping the above stages into the main five stages presented in this document leads to the following classification:

• Growth: Growth

• Rescue/turnaround: Rescue/turnaround

• Replacement capital: Secondary purchase/replacement capital, refinancing bank debt

• Buyouts: Management buyout, management buy-in, public to private, other PIPE, leverage buyout

Amounts definition:

• Equity value: Stricto sensu, amount of capital invested to acquire shares in an enterprise, amount that

originates from funds raised by private equity firms focused primarily on direct investments (including also

co-investment funds) or incorporated direct private equity firms investing from the balance sheet (evergreen

and also direct captive private equity programmes). The equity value includes equity, quasi-equity, mezzanine,

unsecured debt and secured debt financing provided by the above mentioned structures.

• Transaction value: The sum of the “equity value” as described above, to which financing coming from the rest

of the syndicate is added (LP co-investors, individuals, entrepreneurs, business angels, management,

corporates, funds-of-funds, other asset managers and/or financial institutions), together with the leverage

(debt provided by banks or other providers). In other words, stricto sensu transaction value is equal to

enterprise value multiplied by percentage ownership by the acquiring syndicate in which at least one financial

sponsor (private equity firm) is involved.

Sectoral definitions (investment tables):

For a complete picture of the sectoral classification and its mapping to the NACE standardised sectoral classification

of Eurostat (NACE Rev. 2, 2007), please go to the link: www.evca.eu//uploadedFiles/sectoral_classification.pdf.

Divestment methods (divestment table):

• Divestment on flotation (IPO): An IPO (initial public offering, which is the sale or distribution of a company’s

shares to the public for the first time by listing the company on the stock exchange) is one way in which a

private equity firm can sell its shares and exit an investment.

• Repayment of preference shares/loans: If the private equity firm provided loans or bought preference shares

in the company at the time of investment, then their repayment according to the amortisation schedule

represents a decrease of the financial claim of the firm into the company, and hence a divestment.

• Repayment of silent partnership: A silent partnership belongs to the so-called mezzanine financing

instruments. It is similar to a long-term bank loan, but in contrast to a loan, a silent partnership is subject to a

subordination clause, so that, in the event of insolvency, all other creditors are paid preferentially to the silent

partner. The company has to repay the partnership and has to pay interest and possibly a profit-related

compensation. The subordination clause gives the capital the status of equity despite its loan character.

This financing instrument is well known and often used in Germany.

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• Sale of quoted equity post-flotation: It includes sale of quoted shares only if connected to a former private

equity investment, such as sale of quoted shares after a lock-up period.

• Sale to another private equity house: see sale to financial institution.

• Sale to financial institution: The sale of company shares to banks, insurance companies, pension funds,

endowments, foundations and other asset managers other than a private equity firm.

• Trade sale: The sale of company shares to industrial investors.

• Divestment by write-off: The write-down of a portfolio company’s value to zero or a symbolic amount (sales for

a nominal amount). The value of the investment is eliminated and the return to investors is zero or negative.

6.3. Performance section

The data is taken from Thomson Reuters’ application Thomson ONE (or VentureXpert). Thomson Reuters’

applications contain detailed statistical measurements including distribution and valuation ratios from data based on

a sample of 444 funds formed between 1980 and 2008.

IRR Internal Rate of Return

The IRR is the interim net return earned by investors (Limited Partners) from the fund from inception to a stated date.

The IRR is calculated as an annualised effective compounded rate of return using monthly cash flows to and from

investors, together with the Residual Value as a terminal cash flow to investors. The IRR is therefore net, i.e. after

deduction of all fees and carried interest. In cases of captive or semi-captive investment vehicles without fees or

carried interest, the IRR is adjusted to create a synthetic net return using assumed fees and carried interest.

Pooled IRR

The IRR obtained by taking cash flows since inception together with the Residual Value for all funds and aggregating

them into a pool as if they were a single fund. This is superior to either the average, which can be skewed by large

returns on relatively small investments, or the capital weighted IRR which weights each IRR by the capital committed.

This latter measure would be accurate only if all investments were made at once at the beginning of the funds’ life.

Horizon IRR

The horizon IRR allows for an indication of performance trends in the industry. It uses the fund’s net asset value at the

beginning of the period as an initial cash outflow and the Residual Value at the end of the period as the terminal cash

flow. The IRR is calculated using those values plus any cash actually received into or paid by the fund from or to

investors in the defined time period (i.e. horizon).

A three-year horizon looks back from the end of 2008 over three years to the end of 2005 and so on.

Five-Year Rolling IRR

The five-year rolling IRR shows the development of the five-year Horizon IRR, measured at the end of each year.

On the same token the one-, three- and ten-year rolling IRRs are produced.

Median IRR

The value appearing halfway in a table ranking funds by IRR in a descending order.

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Quartile IRR

Statistically, the returns of each fund can be ranked and three quartiles obtained: the upper, the median and the lower

that separate the four quarters of ranked IRRs. The IRR value lies a quarter from the bottom (lower quartile point) or

top (upper quartile point) of a table ranking individual funds in a descending order.

Top Quarter

Comprises funds with an IRR equal to or above the upper quartile point. So while upper quartile IRR is a discrete

return for a single fund, the top quarter IRR is a pooled return for all the funds ranking as individual performance in

the top quarter.

Upper Half

Comprises funds with an IRR equal to or above the median point.

DPI - Distribution to Paid-In

The DPI measures the cumulative distributions returned to investors (Limited Partners) as a proportion of the

cumulative paid-in capital. DPI is net of fees and carried interest. This is also often called the “cash-on-cash return”.

This is a relative measure of the fund’s “realised” return on investment.

RVPI - Residual Value to Paid-In

The RVPI measures the value of the investors (Limited Partners) interest held within the fund, relative to the cumulative

paid-in capital. RVPI is net of fees and carried interest. This is a measure of the fund’s “unrealised” return on

investment.

Residual Value

The estimated value of the assets of the fund, net of fees and carried interest.

TVPI - Total Value to Paid-In

TVPI is the sum of the DPI and the RVPI. TVPI is net of fees and carried interest.

Buyout Fund

Funds whose strategy is to acquire other businesses; this may also include mezzanine debt funds which provide

(generally subordinated) debt to facilitate financing buyouts, frequently alongside a right to some of the equity upside.

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The ‘2009 EVCA Buyout Report’ Research Paper is published by the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EVCA). ISBN 9789077715192 - €200© Copyright EVCA December 2009Bastion Tower, Place du Champ de Mars 5, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 2 715 00 20 Fax: + 32 2 725 07 04 e-mail: [email protected] web: www.evca.eu

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2009 evca buyout report

Economy & Finance