Do private equity owners increase risk of financial distress and bankruptcy?

Tereza Tykvova and Mariela Borell

Journal of Corporate Finance, 2012, vol. 18, issue 1, 138-150

Abstract: In this study, we investigate financial distress risks of European companies around the buyout event in the period between 2000 and 2008. In addition, we analyze whether buyout companies go bankrupt more often than comparable non-buyout companies. Our results suggest that private equity investors select companies which are less financially distressed than comparable non-buyout companies and that the distress risk increases after the buyout. Despite this increase, private equity-backed companies do not suffer from higher bankruptcy rates than comparable non-buyout companies. In fact, when companies are backed by experienced private equity funds, their bankruptcy rates are even lower. These findings indicate that experienced investors are better able to manage distress risks than their inexperienced counterparts.

Keywords: Private equity; Buyout; Financial distress; Bankruptcy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G20 G24 G34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (56)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:corfin:v:18:y:2012:i:1:p:138-150

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2011.11.004

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