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Private Equity experienced dramatic flutuations in investment activity in line with the turbulences of financial markets in recent years. Claudia Sommer develops a theoretical framework of factors driving private equity investment activity and the resulting performance implications. Using a data set of more than 40,000 European transations between 1990 and 2009 she applies a variety of econometrial approaches and shows how neoclassical aspects, information asymmetries, agency conflicts, and market timing contribute to the dynamics in the private equity market. In a performance analysis of more than 1,300 European private equity funds, she reveals how fund performance is linked to investment activity. _

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Review of economic and business literature on private equity in Europe.- Development of a theoretical framework on private equity investment cycles.- Analysis of factors driving private equity investment activity on aggregate and industry level.- Analysis of the performance implications of investment cycles.- Practical implications, summary and conclusion. _

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Dr. Claudia Sommer completed her doctoral thesis under the supervision of Prof. Andreas Grüner and Prof. Klaus Spremann at the University of St. Gallen. She is Head of Corporate Development of a leading German retail and E-commerce company and has a track record in top management consulting.

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