Value Creation in Private Equity : Examining the Active Ownership Role in Driving Portfolio Company Performance

Abstract: The literature indicates that private equity backed companies generate attractive returns on capital fortheir investors. These insights are intriguing and raise the question of what private equity firms do toachieve such performance as the majority owners of these companies. Through a qualitative multiple casestudy conducted through interviews with significant actors of two Swedish private equity firms, we ask;how can Swedish private equity firms conducting buyouts improve the operating performance for theirportfolio holdings through active ownership? By investigating chosen private equity actors we recognizedifferent value driving functions that align with the theoretical framing of the phenomenon. The findings ofthis paper highlight that the concepts’ structure, networking, and capital management can be used tocaptivate the active ownership role in driving portfolio company performance.