Your source for news and announcements from the Svider Private Equity Program at the
Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
November 6, 2017 LETTER FROM STEVE KAPLAN //
Last week, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago announced a $5 million gift from Chicago Booth alumnus, Raymond Svider, which will establish the Svider Private Equity Program. More details about the gift and how it will expand the Polsky Center’s private equity offerings are featured in the news story below.
With the announcement of the Svider Private Equity Program, the Polsky Center is excited to launch the inaugural issue of the Private Equity Digest. This newsletter will serve as a source for the latest private equity research from Chicago Booth faculty, highlight recent deals led by alumni, and provide updates on the Svider Private Equity Program. Whether you are an alum, partner of Polsky, or just interested in the private equity landscape, we look forward to sharing our insights and connecting with you.
Steve Kaplan
Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance
Polsky Faculty Director
FEATURE STORY//
In the wake of the aforementioned $5M gift and creation of the Svider Private Equity Program, the Polsky Center will be able to build upon the expertise and offerings in private equity that have been developed over the past two decades. Our capstone PE programs—including the Private Equity and Venture Capital Lab, the Private Equity Conference, and the Sterling Partners Investment Thesis Challenge—have all grown in size and scope.
The Elfman-Wareham Private Equity and Venture Capital Lab, which enables Booth students to learn firsthand about the PE industry through the combination of an intensive internship at a Chicago PE or venture capital firm and an academic course, has doubled in five years—from 53 students in 2012 to 116 in 2017. The course is co-taught by Professors Ira Weiss, MBA ’99, PhD ’01, Jason Heltzer, MBA ’02, and Chris McGowan (learn more about this hallmark program in the infographic below). In the coming years, we hope to continue to expand the experiential programming and mentorship available to students, deepen our alumni network in private equity, and elevate our brand as a destination for private equity education. Read more about the gift now.
Who Becomes a CEO? Who Succeeds? What Does that Mean for Boards?
Polsky faculty director and Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance Steve Kaplan recently co-authored a research study on which qualities determine who is most likely to become a CEO. After performing detailed assessments on over 2,600 C-level and executive job candidates, Kaplan and his co-author, Morten Sorensen from Copenhagen Business School, found that CEO candidates differed significantly from other executives on four factors: talent, execution, charisma, and creativity. Additionally, they examined which candidates were likely to get hired and which, once hired, proved to be the most successful. Read more now.
DEAL NEWS //
ABM Italia
Alum: Marco Castelli, MBA '11 - Partner, BC Partners
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $427.54M
APTIM
Alum: Ramzi Musallam, MBA '97 - Managing Partner and CEO, Veritas Capital
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $755M
Calsonic Kansei
Alum: Hirofumi Hirano, MBA '09 - Member and CEO, KKR Japan
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $10.09B (estimate)
Chewy
Alum: Raymond Svider, MBA, '89 - Co-chairman and Managing Partner, BC Partners
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $3.35B
Diamond Marketing Solutions
Alum: Peter Kotz, MBA '09 - Managing Partner, Old Town Equity Deal Type: PE Growth/Expansion
Value: $1.99M
Gas Natural
Alum: Mark Florian, MBA '82 - Managing Director, First Reserve
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $196M (estimate)
Nutraceutical International
Alum: Ryan Simpson, MBA '08 - Vice President, Antares Capital
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $446M
RadiumOne
Alum: Subhransu Brian Mukherjee, MBA '96 - Partner, Periscope Equity
Deal Type: Corporate Asset Purchase
Value: $22M
Twist and Seal
Jason Duzan, MBA '03 - Founder and Managing Director, Colfax Creek Capital
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $500K
United Fire (Unite Life Insurance)
Alum: Kevin McAllister, MBA '04 - Founder and Managing Partner, Access Holdings
Deal Type: Buyout/LBO
Value: $280M
THE ALUMNI PERSPECTIVE //
Donnacha O'Sullivan, MBA '17, recently spoke to the Polsky Center about his experience working in the private equity industry both before and after his time at Booth, addressing important topics such as the impact his MBA degree has had on his career, the sorts of avenues at Booth available for industry incumbents as well as for potential "career-changers," and if he could do it all again, what he would (and wouldn't) do differently. Read the full interview now.
