Buyout Basics

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1,3, Technical University of Munich (Wirtschaftswissenschaften), course: Entrepreneurial Finance, language: English, abstract: Die Arbeit gibt einen Überblick über die verschiedenen Formen von Buyouts, die verschiedenen Anlässe für Buyouts, die Finanzierung und Exit-Möglichkeiten, sowie über die wertschöpfenden Faktoren. Outline of the Work This work tries to give an overview of the characteristics and types of a buyout, the financing and exit strategies as well as the influence on the value of the respective company. Chapter 2 describes the basics of a buyout, starting with a definition of the term ‘buyout’ and the possible buyout constructions. Thereupon follows a listing of the different buyout types and a short explanation of those. The chapter closes with a description of the most common motivations for buyouts. Chapter 3 treats the financial aspect of a buyout. It is subdivided into two sections. The first one explains leveraging, the financing technique used in most buyouts. A short description of the leverage effect and its application in buyouts is given being followed by a listing of preconditions that a business has to fulfil to be suitable for a buyout. Thereafter the financial instruments and their structuring in a buyout are explained. The paragraph concludes with a short listing of covenants usually included in financial buyout contracts. The second section specifies the different exit strategies for the financial intermediaries. Chapter 4 gives a short overview of the different factors of value creation in buyouts. This is done by describing a framework to categorise the possible aspects and then by mentioning and classifying those ones. Finally the conclusion gives a short summary with a crititcal assessment of value creation in buyouts. It closes with a future outlook.