Abstract
This paper uses cash flow statements to study leveraged buyouts between 1980 and 2006 of large publicly traded U.S. firms by private equity funds. Presenting the origin, ownership and use of cash in these transactions, I show that once they are controlled by private equity funds, these firms exhibit a significant decline in investment and growth. I also use cash flow statements to evaluate the free cash flow proxies frequently used in the literature and show that the gains in free cash flows are due to a significant reduction in investment post-LBO and not operating improvements. The leveraged capital structure forces a change in investment philosophy, which is reflected in lagged declines in growth rates.
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