Publications

Private Equity Funds Successfully Compete with Strategic Buyers

Winter 2007
Benjamin M. Polk | Mary K. Marks | Abraham A. Spira
Private Equity Developments - Winter 2007

Historically, strategic buyers have dominated private equity funds in the buyout landscape. Over the seven-year period from 1999 to 2005, private equity funds accounted for as little as 2% and a maximum of 15% of all U.S. M&A activity. One of the reasons for this dominance is that strategic buyers have typically outbid private equity funds for target companies put on the market in competitive auctions.