Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts: An Empirical Analysis* Ulf Axelson SIFR and Stockholm School of Economics Tim Jenkinson Saïd Business School, Oxford University and CEPR Per Strömberg SIFR, Stockholm School of Economics, CEPR, and NBER Michael S. Weisbach* University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and NBER Preliminary draft. Please do not quote without the authors’ permission. Abstract This paper provides an empirical analysis of the financial structure of large recent buyouts. We collect detailed information of the financings of 153 large buyouts (averaging over $1 billion in enterprise value). We document the manner in which these important transactions are financed. Buyout leverage is cross-sectionally unrelated to the leverage of matched public firms, and is largely driven by other factors than what explains leverage in public firms. In particular, the economy-wide cost of borrowing seems to drive leverage. Prices paid in buyouts are related to the prices observed for matched firms in the public market, but are also strongly affected by the economy-wide cost of borrowing. These results are consistent with a view in which the availability of financing impacts booms and busts in the private equity market. August 28, 2007 Keywords: Private equity, capital structure, buyouts * Contact information: Ulf Axelson, SIFR, Saltmätargatan 19A, SE-113 59, Stockholm, Sweden, email:
[email protected] . Tim Jenkinson, Said Business School, Oxford University, 1 Park End Street, Oxford. OX1 1HP, UK, email:
[email protected] . Per Stromberg, SIFR, email:
[email protected] . Michael Weisbach, 340 Wohlers Hall, 1206 S. Sixth St., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA; email:
[email protected].