HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024176.jpg
Extracted Text (OCR)
Private Equity
Prefer small/mid-cap buyout in US / emerging markets;
UBS View distressed debt in Europe
¢ Private equity deals in today's volatile and uncertain markets are conservatively financed, with an average
equity cushion of 40%. We like mid-market buyout strategies, which offer long-term exposure to attractive
corporate assets and which rely less on large bank debt syndications.
¢ Our house view sees large parts of Europe in a stagnation, and business owners are reluctant to sell their
companies, reducing PE deal flow in the region significantly. We therefore prefer North America, which
will see continuous (albeit suboptimal) growth, and emerging markets, which show positive fundamentals.
e Prices for PE transactions have corrected by around 10% this year, although they are still 20% above the
attractive levels seen during the successful years between 2000 and 2004. However, significant dry powder
and high cash positions at corporations keep competition high and hinder prices from falling much further.
4 Positive scenario Prefer small-/mid-cap buyout and secondaries
e An abating Eurozone debt crisis and improved business confidence would increase deal flow and exit
opportunities for private equity managers, but would also increase entry prices. In such a positive scenario,
we would perceive commitment strategies to secondary funds as attractive for building exposure to an
invested private equity portfolio.
& Negative scenario Prefer distressed debt
e A renewed escalation of the debt crisis would significantly impact deal activity, the availability of debt
and company owners' willingness to sell. At the same time, it would offer attractive opportunities within
distressed strategies and lower entry prices for long-term private equity investors.
Note: Scenarios refer to global economic scenarios (see slide 7)
What we're watching Why it matters
Credit markets Availability of leverage and credit spreads are important signs of the health of
buyout markets. Small/mid caps are currently financed at 4.3x EBITDA (vs 4.6x
for large-caps) and are more attractive given their lower reliance on bank
financing in a period of ongoing bank deleveraging.
Capital overhang We track deal/exit activity to understand the pressure to invest, future price
dynamics and draw-down profiles for investors. More than USD 930bn of un-
invested capital and expiring investment periods will keep prices elevated.
Purchasing prices (Enterprise Price multiples offer valuable insight into private company valuations. YTD
value / EDITDA) May 2012, buyouts occurred at 8.1x, down from 8.8x seen in 2011. Large-cap
buyouts have come down 10% from the peak last year to 8.6x.
USD bn
Recommendations
Strategic (1 to 2 years)
e We prefer small-/mid-cap buyouts in North
America given the better economic
outlook vs Europe, higher transaction
certainty and more attractive entry prices.
Investors looking for downside protection
and stability during economic
uncertainties can consider large-cap
buyouts in the US, which offer exposure
to large, diversified companies at more
attractive prices.
In Europe, the crisis and ongoing
deleveraging have led to _ attractive
opportunities for special situations. We
thus recommend investing in distressed
debt to benefit from the macroeconomic
adjustment process and selling pressure
for many European banks.
e We advise investors make an ongoing
allocation to private equity in emerging
markets, which offer an attractive way to
capture superior long-term growth and
provide access to small/mid-cap companies
not available through the stock market.
Private equity deals continue to be defensively
financed amidst economic uncertainty
100 50%
Equity cushion (% of transaction
value)
2004 2005, 2006 2007, 2008 2009 2010 2011 YTD May 12
mmm PE backed high yield issuances (hs) —Equity cushion in LBOs (rhs)
Source: S&P, UBS CIO, as of May 2012
Note: Past performance is not an indication of future returns.
UB S For further information please contact CIO's asset class specialist Stefan Bragger, stefan.braegger@ubs.com
Please see important disclaimer and disclosures at the end of the document.
Note: We emphasize the equal importance of fund manager selection and the commitment strategy. Please note that private equity is an illiquid asset class and must be held at least until the end of the fund (10+ years).
Please note that UBS might not have a product available which reflects our UBS CIO private equity recommendations. Private equity is only suitable for qualified investors (> USD 5m investable assets).
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024176
Extracted Information
Email Addresses
Document Details
| Filename | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024176.jpg |
| File Size | 0.0 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 85.0% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 4,605 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-04T16:53:25.168300 |