Over the past decade global fundraising for venture capital and leveraged buyouts has exceeded USD1.5trn, bringing companies of all sizes, sectors and locations into the sights of private
Over the past decade global fundraising for venture capital and leveraged buyouts has exceeded USD1.5trn, bringing companies of all sizes, sectors and locations into the sights of private equity funds, and even amid the recent financial instability and the impact of the credit crunch on leveraged buyouts, the industry’s economic importance is as strong as ever, according to Professor Tim Jenkinson of Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.
Paradoxically, the structure of private equity is not widely understood. This has prompted Jenkinson, a leading commentator on the industry to develop a new programme designed to provide a robust and clear guide to private equity, drawing upon the expertise and experience of a luminous group of senior industry insiders.
The Oxford Private Equity Programme, which will be held at Saïd Business School from June 16 to 19 in association with CFA Institute, examines in depth the changes brought about by the new financing and governance models employed by private equity and offers a comprehensive framework for assessing the implications of private equity for individuals and their organisations.
The programme aims to provide a thorough grounding in the skills that are essential for an understanding of the private equity industry. Says Jenkinson: ‘Private equity is here to stay, despite the turbulence of the recent credit crunch. It has fundamentally changed the corporate and financial landscape, yet its structure is not widely understood. This programme will give you the tools you need to understand the private equity phenomenon.’
The programme is designed for advisors working with private equity, including investment bankers, consultants, corporate lawyers and accountants; finance professionals and senior executives seeking to understand the implications of private equity for their business, or who want to work in the industry; investors ranging from pension fund managers to wealth managers, seeking to deepen their knowledge of private equity to inform decisions; entrepreneurs or senior executives from large companies seeking private equity funding; and private equity professionals wishing to benefit from the latest research and practice.
The Oxford Private Equity Programme will include contributions from industry practitioners who will reflect on their experience of operating within the private equity environment, including Joncarlo Mark, a senior portfolio manager at CalPERS, Paul Fletcher, a senior partner at Actis, Stewart Hay, a partner with SL Capital Partners, and Stephen Duckett, managing director of Hellman & Friedman.
The programme begins with an overview of private equity as an asset class and its potential attractions to investors. It then looks in depth at issues affecting the transaction process and the performance of companies run by private equity investors. Case study analysis and group assignments are combined with contributions from industry leaders and private equity advisors.
The four-day programme includes sessions on the risk characteristics of private equity, how deals are valued, the due diligence process, the role of leverage, and exit routes. There is an examination of how performance is benchmarked, offering the skills needed to evaluate potential private equity opportunities, and the future of the industry will also be explored.
Jenkinson, whose research centres on private equity, initial public offerings and securitisation, developed Oxford’s MBA course on private equity involving top industry practitioners, which has become the most popular elective at the Saïd Business School since it was introduced in 2000. He was recently a witness to the UK Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee enquiry into private equity, and is a frequent contributor to the media and industry conferences.
Executive education at Saïd Business School draws on thought leadership from the entire resource base of Oxford University, as well as the business school, to offer executive development designed both to inspire individuals and create business impact. It offers individuals and their organisations the opportunity to work with global experts and to acquire insights into the complex realities of global management as well as to envisage and anticipate the future.
The design of the executive education programme was ranked among the top six in the world by the Financial Times last year. With clients such as Telefonica, BMW and Standard Chartered, it comprises a portfolio of leadership and practitioner programmes such as the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme, which marked its 25th year in 2007, the Diploma in Financial Strategy and the Oxford Advanced Management Programme.
Established in 1996, the Saïd Business School is one of Europe’s youngest and most entrepreneurial business schools with a reputation for innovative business education. As an integral part of Oxford University, the school combines Oxford’s academic rigour with a reputation for research in a wide range of areas including finance and accounting, organisational analysis, international management, strategy and operations management.
