Working Papers
Firm-Level Characteristics and Deal Leverage in Private Equity
Presented: 14th Annual Private Equity Research Symposium, UNC (11/2022); Finance Brownbag, UChicago Booth (08/2022).
Presented: 14th Annual Private Equity Research Symposium, UNC (11/2022); Finance Brownbag, UChicago Booth (08/2022).

Abstract: In this paper, I use a new and rich data set of leveraged buyout transactions to study the determinants of leverage choice in private equity deals. In so doing, I re-examine some of the findings presented in Axelson, Jenkinson, Strömberg, and Weisbach (2013). In line with previous results, I find that time-varying factors are important determinants of leverage, but they proxy to a large extent for general macroeconomic conditions and not interest rates spreads, as previously thought. I then consider the importance of firm-level characteristics and find that size and profitability positively correlate with leverage, explaining much more variation than time-varying factors in the cross section of deals.
[Manuscript]
[Online Appendix]
[Data and Code]
[Manuscript]
[Online Appendix]
[Data and Code]