Private Equity Firms

Conclusion

The conclusion of our study consists of two parts. First, we draw up a summary of the investigation. Next, we discuss the limits and the research perspectives arising from it.

Summary of the investigation

We have devoted our work to the role of French private equity firms (PEFs) in the formation of strategic alliances for the business that they support. The goal of our study was to provide an explanation for this phenomenon. As the intra-/extraportfolio criterion seemed important to us in principle, we chose to distinguish intraportfolio alliances, formed within a single PEF’s investment portfolio, with extraportfolio alliances including alliance partners external to the investment portfolio of the PEF(s) involved. Basing our study on the whole private equity market, we considered the points of view of the PEFs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) forming alliances.

Although PEFs profess to play a role in building relationships for their portfolio companies through the formation of alliances, no concrete example was publicly accessible. There thus arose a first question of a descriptive nature: that of the real importance of the phenomenon.

Our first introductory chapter allowed us to respond to this initial question. After having identified the problem, we were able to determine that the French private equity market presents environmental conditions, which are in principle favorable to the formation of alliances for the companies supported by private equity. ...