Operational value creation in Finnish private equity-backed buyouts

Abstract

This thesis investigates how private equity (PE) firms create operational value in Finnish buyout targets. The study focuses on portfolio companies acquired between 2017 and 2020 and examines changes in operational performance following PE ownership. Using a quantitative research design, the analysis compares a treatment group of 38 PE-backed companies with a matched control group of non-PE-owned firms. A Difference-in-Differences (DiD) regression framework is employed to isolate the causal effect of PE ownership on key operational metrics, including EBITDA growth, asset turnover, and cost efficiency.

The results provide partial yet meaningful evidence of operational value creation under PE ownership. The most robust improvement is observed in yearly EBITDA growth, with PE-backed firms outperforming their peers by approximately 2.9 percentage points post-buyout. However, this is contrasted by a statistically significant decline in return on assets relative to the control group, suggesting capital-intensive post-buyout strategies or structural balance sheet changes. Other operational metrics, such as cost efficiency and asset utilization, do not show statistically significant changes. These findings suggest that improvements in profitability under PE ownership are likely driven by company-specific strategies that may not be visible in standard financial indicators. Overall, the study contributes to the understanding of how PE influences firm performance in the Nordic setting.