Working Paper: NBER ID: w3653
Authors: Steven N. Kaplan
Abstract: This paper documents the organizational status over time of 183 large leveraged buyouts (LBOs) completed between 1979 and 1986. As of August 1990, 63% of the LaOs are privately owned, 14% are independent public companies, and 23% are owned by other public companies As time since the LBO increases, the percentage of LBOs that have returned to public ownership increases. The (unconditional) median time LBOs remain private equals 6.70 years. This evidence suggests that the majority of LBO organizations are neither short-lived nor permanent. In addition the moderate fraction of LBOs assets owned by other (potentially related) companies implies that asset sales play a role in, but are not the primarily force motivating LBO transactions.
Keywords: leveraged buyouts; organizational status; public ownership; private ownership
JEL Codes: G34; L25
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| time since the LBO (G33) | ownership status (R21) |
| LBOs (G33) | public ownership likelihood (L32) |
| LBO assets ownership by public companies (G32) | ownership transitions (L14) |
| time since the LBO (G33) | likelihood of returning to public ownership (H13) |