From the first day of taking Private Equity investment you should have one eye on Exit and how you will realise the gains in value. Your initial ‘equity story’ may well have had some indication of how exit would be realised by identifying potential buyers for the business.
The process for securing a deal that realises gains and ends your current Private Equity investment cycle is largely the same as the one you went through to find your PE investor in the first place. Certainly, many of the key stages are the same.
There is, however, a single factor that changes everything. Any deal must satisfy your current PE investor’s need for the best possible return on investment. It will largely define the success or failure of your PE experience. It will also affect your choice of investor for the exit deal.
A further consideration is whether you and your management team want to continue to manage the business. If you do, the choice of the next investor will be very important and may clash with your PE investor’s need for maximum returns. Conversely, you may be looking for a complete exit which may impact on the value of the business and returns your investors can make.
Learn more
