Stockholm School of Economics Department of Finance MSc thesis – Spring 2013 Supervisor: Assistant Professor Michael Halling The Operating Impact of Management Ownership Evidence from Private Equity Buyouts in Sweden Abstract Using a novel dataset comprising 161 private equity buyouts in Sweden between 2002 and 2008, this paper investigates the impact of management participation on operating performance in buyouts. The authors compare performance in private equity sponsored management buyouts (MBOs) with other buyouts and also investigate the effect of management ownership in buyout companies. The analysis is carried out using regression analysis over two event windows, the three years following the buyout year and the period from entry to exit. The authors find that a higher management equity stake has a positive effect on profitability in buyout companies, but has a negative impact on growth. Additionally, the study finds that MBOs tend to outperform other buyouts over the full holding period. Looking at employee growth, larger management ownership in buyout companies is found to have a significant positive effect on employment. Keywords: Private equity, management buyout, MBO, management incentives, operating performance Mikael Svanberg Christopher Wanzelius
[email protected] [email protected] Acknowledgements We would like to thank our tutor, Assistant Professor Michael Halling, for valuable support and guidance during the process of writing this paper. We also acknowledge Professor Per Strömberg, who was kind enough to provide feedback on our chosen topic. Last but not least, we would like to thank our friends and family for their encouragement and patience during the past few months. 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents ...............................................................................................................