There has been a chorus of voices recently wanting to see private enterprises or Private Equity firms investing to stimulate a recovery and growth, both in the UK and Europe.
It’s all very well demanding someone else invest money but why should they? There are many ‘zombie’ companies that could be ripe for investment but in effect are overvalued due to the debt burden which will almost certainly never be repaid. These firms need restructuring with bank lenders prepared to take a hit if they are to be attractive for investors.
The chorus may not be aware that investors normally rank behind the bank, or are they hoping investors are naïve enough to underwrite the bank debt by pouring good money after bad? Private Equity companies rarely have either the time or the patience to spend on business improvement as most rely on financial restructuring followed by a swift exit to deliver a huge return on investment to their own investors.
Another factor is Private Equity’s reliance on cheap and easy money to recover their investment by refinancing assets and to realize profits by funding a sale where the lending market underwrites their returns. This is how many of the banks were left with bad debts so it may be a while before they return to providing cheap and easy money.
Private Equity firms, like most alternative investments, depend on their ability to attract funds from investors who want to see an adequate return, normally in a relatively short period.
Since the financial crisis began many investments by Private Equity have been locked in due to the inability to refinance or sell their investments, which has impacted on their return to investors and thus on their ability to raise new funds.
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