Posted by Ludovic Phalippou, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, on Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Editor's Note: Ludovic Phalippou is an Associate Professor of Finance at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. This post is based on an article authored by Professor Phalippou; Christian Rauch, Barclays Career Development Fellow in Entrepreneurial Finance at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford; and Marc Umber, Assistant Professor of Corporate Finance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.
When private equity firms sponsor a takeover, they may charge fees to the target company while some of the firm’s partners sit on the company’s board of directors. In the wake of the global financial crisis, such potential for conflicts of interest became a public policy focus. On July 21st 2015, thirteen state and city treasurers wrote to the SEC to ask for private equity firms to reveal all of the fees that they charge investors. The SEC announced on October 7th 2015, that it “will continue taking action against advisers that do not adequately disclose their fees and expenses” following a settlement by Blackstone for $39 million over accelerated monitoring fees.
