Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2006--München.

Private equity (PE) has consistently delivered robust financial returns relative to the public stock market, therefore attracting significant interest from institutional and private investors alike. Private equity performance is generally benchmarked against the public stock market with the help of the Public Market Equivalent (PME) framework. However, a common criticism is that very broad indices, not reflecting the characteristics of private equity investments, are generally used in this framework. This thesis explores the application of tailored indices in the PME framework, designed to more closely mirror the specific characteristics of PE investments, such as sector and geographical composition, and thus providing a more realistic picture of PE performance. The research adopts a quantitative approach and through comprehensive data collection of cash flows, valuations, composition and index data the authors construct two Excel models: one assessing the performance of the PE market and the other analyzing a Fund of Funds (FoF) actor's underlying funds. The findings indicate that using tailored indices generally reduces the outperformance of PE investments compared to the public market. Specifically, PE funds with vintages from 2004 to 2018 experience a 2% to 3.5% decrease in yearly excess return when benchmarked against a tailored index rather than the MSCI World index. A significant factor contributing to this trend is the PE market's concentration on high-performing sectors in America. These findings highlight the critical role of benchmark selection in assessing PE performance. Additionally, funds with a specific investment focus, known as specialist funds, are more accurately benchmarked against tailored indices that reflect their focus. Conversely, generalist funds can be effectively benchmarked against a broad index.

This project aims to analyze Nordic companies active in the sector of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and does this in two parts. Part I entails analyzing public companies to construct a valuation model aimed at predicting the enterprise value of private companies. Part II deals with analyzing private companies to determine if there are opportunities providing excess returns as compared to investments in public companies. In part I, a multiple regression approach is utilized to identify suitable valuation models. In doing so, it is revealed that 1-factor models provide best statistical results in terms of significance and prediction error. In descending order, in terms of prediction accuracy, these are (1) total assets, (2) turnover, (3) EBITDA, and (4) cash flow. Part II uses model (1) and finds that Nordic ICT private equity does provide opportunities for positive alphas, and that it is possible to construct portfolio strategies that increase this alpha. However, with regards to previous research, it seems as though the returns offered by the private equity market analyzed does not adequately compensate investors for the additional risks related to investing in private equity. / Det här projektet analyserar nordiska bolag aktiva inom Informations- och Kommunikationsteknologi (ICT) i två delar. Del I behandlar analys av publika bolag för att konstruera en värderingsmodell avsedd att förutsäga privata bolags enterprise value. Del II analyserar privata bolag för att undersöka huruvida det finns möjligheter att uppnå överavkastning jämfört med investeringar i publika bolag. I del I utnyttjas multipel regressionsanalys för att identifiera tillämpliga värderingsmodeller. I den processen påvisas att modeller med enbart en faktor ger bäst statistiska resultat i fråga om signifikans och förutsägelsefel. I fallande ordning, med avseende på precision i förutsägelser, är dessa modeller (1) totala tillgångar, (2) omsättning, (3) EBITDA, och (4) kassaflöde. Del II använder modell (1) och finner att den nordiska marknaden för privata ICT-bolag erbjuder möjligheter för överavkastning jämfört med motsvarande publika marknad, samt att det är möjligt att konstruera portföljstrategier som ökar avkastningen ytterligare. Dock, med hänsyn till tidigare forskning, verkar det som att de möjligheter för avkastning som går att finna på marknaden av privata bolag som undersökts inte kompenserar investerare tillräckligt för de ytterligare risker som är relaterade till investeringar i privata bolag.