B9907 - Private Equity

Academic Year 2025/2026

Course contents

1. The Fundamentals of Private Equity: theoretical aspects and taxonomy. 

2. The Management of Equity Investment: Fundraising, Investing, Managing, Monitoring and Investing. 

3. Company evaluation in private and venture capital

4. Financing seed and start up and financing growth. 

5. Financing Buyouts. 

6. Turnaround and distressed financing. 

7. Listing a private company. 

8. Theoretical models of Private Equity. 

9. Optimal Capital Structure in Dynamic models (stochastic approaches and target zones) 

Readings/Bibliography

1. Advanced Introduction to Private Equity by Paul A. Gompers and Steve Kaplan, Elgar Publishing, 2022.  

2. Private Equity and Venture Capital in Europe: Markets, Techniques, and Deals, by Stefano Caselli and Giulia Negri, 3rd edition, Associated Press. 

 

Teaching methods

In presence lectures 

Assessment methods

In class written exam. An optional oral exam is possible, after the written exam. It is possible to access oral exam only after passing the written exam. The oral exam can improve the grade of the written exam by no more than 4 points. In case of a bad oral exam the final grade can go further down the grade obtained in the written exam.
The evaluation grid goes as follows:

<18: failed.

18-23: sufficient.

24-27: good.

28-30: very good.

30 with laude: excellent.

The in class written exam will be two-hour long.

Teaching tools

Slides and Papers from the literature.

Office hours

See the website of Massimiliano Marzo

SDGs

Quality education Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.