Leveraged Buyouts, Long Term Relationship and Financial Contracting

Abstract

OF THE DISSERTATION Leveraged Buyouts, Long Term Relationship and Financial Contracting by Lei Gao Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration Washington University in St. Louis, 2010 Professor Ohad Kadan, and Professor David K. Levine, Chairperson(s) Abstract: In the first chapter of my dissertation, I study private equity sponsored leveraged buyouts. In this study, I identify and estimate two components of the created value: benefits of debt and influence of private equity. In the second chapter of my dissertation, I study repeated games with private monitoring in continuous time. I apply stochastic filtering theory to characterize the evolution of players’ beliefs, which is difficult to do in discrete time. In the third chapter of my dissertation, I study the connection between financial contracting and staged financing in venture capital. In the first chapter of my dissertation, I study private equity sponsored leveraged buyouts. In this study, I identify and estimate two components of the created value: benefits of debt and influence of private equity. In the second chapter of my dissertation, I study repeated games with private monitoring in continuous time. I apply stochastic filtering theory to characterize the evolution of players’ beliefs, which is difficult to do in discrete time. In the third chapter of my dissertation, I study the connection between financial contracting and staged financing in venture capital.