Care to Specialise? A Swedish Study on the Effects of PE Ownership and PE Specialisation Strategies on Company Operating Performance

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines whether PE-backed companies experience a superior development in operating performance compared to non-PE-backed companies and how a relatively strong investment focus amongst PE firms, with respect to a particular industry or the buyout investment stage, affects investee operating performance. To conduct the analysis, we use a data sample of 122 Swedish PE investments over the period 2008-2015 and an equally large matched sample of non-PE-backed companies. We find that PE-backed companies grow faster than non-PE-backed companies, although they do not show signs of superior development in operating profitability. And while we find that buyout-stage specialisation amongst PE firms has a positive impact on operational efficiency in investees, we find no indications that a relatively strong industry focus can provide PE firms with a competitive advantage over their peers.