style="font-size:15px;"> How skilled investors overcome biases and minimize investment errors
Why the best investment of your career might be a deal you never pursue
Nine deal breakers you need to check for before proceeding on any deal
Chapter 5: Deal Selection: Identifying the Right Deal
Key Topics:
Save time and effort: why it makes sense to evaluate the transaction dynamic first
If you choose to remember one thing about deal selection, make it the business model
The four most common sources of competitive advantage for any business
Forget the detail: just a few key financial metrics that matter for deal selection
How clever structuring can help you overcome valuation concerns
Chapter 6: Assessing the Top Management Team
Key Topics:
Why motivating superb managers is the key ingredient in private equity's secret sauce
Why the best CEOs are not the charismatic and articulate leaders we see in movies
What makes the job of a private equity CEO among the most demanding in the world
Nine key qualities to look out for when assessing CEOs for private equity businesses
How you can apply the latest best practices in your assessment of management teams
Chapter 7: Analyzing the Business Plan
Key Topics:
Why skilled investors explore business fundamentals before diving into the numbers
Key problem areas to spot immediately in every business plan you review
How to poke holes in overoptimistic projections and make your investment case add up
Ten cold, hard questions that every solid business plan needs to address
My trusted business plan tool: Master List of Most Common Drivers of Value Creation
Chapter 8: Valuation
Key Topics:
Enterprise value, headline price and cash consideration: why they are each different
How experienced investors use flawed valuation methods and still get to the right answer
Seven valuation metrics and six valuation methods I like (and hate) to use
Two valuation approaches for those times when you find “difficult to value” companies
You've done the valuation: How much will you pay to win the deal?
Chapter 9: Deal Structuring
Key Topics:
Capital structure considerations: what type of leverage to use and when it is too much
Management Incentive Plans: target A, reward A and achieve A
Enhance your deal through earn-outs, earn-ins, escrows and vendor loan notes
Minority deals: negotiate robust exit rights or be held hostage by majority owners
Advanced deal structuring techniques for minority investments
Chapter 10: Deal Execution: Transaction Process and Due Diligence
Key Topics:
What to expect in a typical private equity transaction process
Don't “boil the ocean”: ten principles of a well-managed due diligence effort
Who does what and why you need it: an anatomy of the key due diligence workstreams
Chapter 11: Deal Execution: Legal Documentation
Key Topics:
Why you don't need to be a lawyer to provide valuable input in legal negotiations
How to translate due diligence findings into legal clauses in the deal documentation
My cheat sheet summary of common issues in the key transaction agreements
Chapter 12: Adding Value Through Active Ownership
Key Topics:
Develop your own success formula with a Value Creation Plan
Four value-accretive actions for every portfolio company to consider
Create powerful performance improvement momentum with a 100-Day Plan
Governance and reporting: strategic priorities of a well-run private equity board
When things go wrong: spot the first signs of company distress and take radical action
Chapter 13: Exit Strategies and Deal Monetization
Key Topics:
How to exit a minority investment (effortlessly)
Exiting a majority transaction: Should you time the market?
Conventional exit routes: an IPO, strategic sale or sponsor-to-sponsor buyout
Can't exit your investment? Alternative deal monetization strategies to the rescue
The finishing touch: exit preparation roadmap for every portfolio company
Acknowledgments
I owe a debt of gratitude to my family, who supported me throughout my book-writing journey and helped bring this project to fruition. A warm thank-you to my wonderful husband Frederik, who was the first reader of every chapter in the book (not always entirely by choice). I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable support of my children, August and Daria. Thank you for coming with me to my office during numerous weekends and
