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6QQMB312 – PRIVATE EQUITY
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6QQMB312 – Private Equity
Assessment – Individual Coursework
(100% of total module grade)
Lead Instructor: Anthony Gahan Instructor’s email: anthony.gahan@kcl.ac.uk
Submission
Deadline:
via KEATS by 10:00
on Thursday 18th
December 2025
Submission
checklist
1. File saved as
[ModuleCode_CandidateNumber]
2. Word count (3,500 words)
3. File format for submission (.docx)
The Task
The assessment has two components:
Part 1 – requires you to imagine that you are an executive in a private equity firm and you are writing an
abridged paper making the case to your colleagues to approve a proposed investment.
In the paper you will inter alia: describe the business; articulate the growth opportunity (importantly
sharing your original thoughts for growth); explain the market context; and then comment on the deal
structure, risks and how you would exit the investment.
Early in the module, you will be given a list of potential businesses to write about.
During your tutorials we will learn how private equity structures align management teams and drive value
for investors and discuss case studies on businesses so you will feel comfortable assuming the role of
investor.
Part 2 – requires you to consider the transaction you have supported in Part 1 with an academic and
contextual lens. This means that you will need to identify two aspects of the specific transaction (out of
four options) and apply academic thinking to these – together with any wider context you consider
relevant. “Contextual” in this case is being aware of how the private equity applies to your chosen
company/sector, or other asset classes or to our daily lives. The academic options will be clearly discussed
and defined in our tutorials.
Part 1 is a commercially and technically focused document requiring no academic referencing whereas
Part 2 is a conventional academic essay.
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Module Learning Outcomes Assessed
1. Understanding of Private Equity and approach to investment
2. Demonstration of commercial analysis of target buyout and application of original thought to
investment case
3. Demonstrating a wider academic and contextual perspective on Private Equity
Assignment Details and Structure
Your assessment for the Private Equity module will be based on the submission of coursework with two
components and with a total word count of 3,500 words.
PART 1 (75% weighting and up to 2,250 words)
You are required to submit a highly abridged “Investment Paper” recommending a buyout of a company AS
IF YOU WERE AN EXECUTIVE IN A PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM.
For the avoidance of doubt this means that you are writing the paper for people who know all about Private
Equity and therefore want to read your conclusions – NOT A PAPER EXPLAINING WHAT PRIVATE EQUITY IS.
Your paper will not cover all the items required for an actual Investment Paper (or reach the levels of detail
needed) but it will provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate key learnings from the module, namely:
How buyouts work;
How a commercial view of the investment impacts on valuation, risk and transaction structures;
How management is incentivised and how returns flow to fund investors.
We will use the tutorials to ensure that you are clear on the technical aspects of a transaction (e.g.
financial, structural, valuation/returns) and blend these with the core commercial reason for making
the investment. You will only need to focus on specific elements of the investment paper as shown below:
Introduction/Executive Summary
The Commercial Opportunity (i.e. your proposed business plan post investment)
Market Context
Risks
Valuation and Investment Returns (using a very basic financial model which we will discuss in detail)
Exit Options.
The paper needs original thought. A high level of perception as to the fundamental investment opportunity
will drive a higher grade. Excess words that do not add to the reader’s understanding of your
recommendation will have a negative impact – but, of course, your narrative will still need to have a natural
logical flow and be error free.
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Early in the module, you will be offered some choices as to the illustrative investment candidates using real
publicly quoted businesses.
DO NOT WRITE ABOUT A COMPANY WHICH IS NOT ON THE LIST PROVIDED.
YOU MUST ASSUME THAT THE BUSINESS YOUR WRITE ABOUT IS NOT A PUBLIC COMPANY FOR THE
PURPOSES OF THE ASSESSMENT BUT INSTEAD A PRIVATE ONE WHERE THE EXISTING FAMILY
SHAREHOLDER WISHES TO SELL TO THE INCUMBENT MANAGEMENT TEAM.
References to the share price performance of the company, market value, dividend yield are therefore
completely irrelevant. Remember also that in a buyout the company is bought debt free – and then the new
owner decides what the capital structure will be going forward.
In creating the financial model for your chosen company, you will need to propose an entry (and exit)
valuation as well as suggest a leverage multiple and then allocate enough equity to management to result
in a good result for them and also a good result for the PE firm.
Please ensure that you copy and paste the simple buyout returns model we provide you with into your
assessment so we can see what you have assumed.
NOTE THAT WE DO NOT FOCUS ON FINANCIAL MODELLING IN THE MODULE SO DO NOT CREATE ANY
OTHER MODEL FOR THE ASSESSMENT.
PART 2 (25% weighting and up to 1,250 words)
We will guide you through a number of buyout case studies which raise interesting features that have
generated academic debate. You will be asked to critically evaluate your chosen investment candidate in
Part 1 through an academic and contextual lens.
It is core to this academic essay you change your perspective to that of an academic finance scholar with
some latitude to step back and highlight wider societal/business views on Private Equity. You should
consider the different concepts covered in the tutorials and the role they may play for your specific
investment proposal, answering the following question:
What are the critical considerations for your proposed buyout to become a successful investment
Of the four discussed, please focus on two topics (and their potential interrelation):
Capital structure and leverage
Creation, capture and destruction of value
Corporate governance: Management incentives and boards
Realization of value: Information asymmetry, market timing and PE exit.
Similar to the investment paper, this second part should NOT BE A PAPER EXPLAINING WHAT PRIVATE
EQUITY IS, NOR WHAT THE MAIN FINANCE THEORIES ARE. Rather, it should demonstrate your critical
thinking and application of the knowledge and analytical skills learned on the module to a real-life case.
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Illustrative questions you might want to ask yourselves are:
“Does the level of leverage chosen appear optimal with respect to capital structure theory and at the
same time leave enough room to adapt to fluctuations in the external market environment ”
“How will value be created or captured based on your paper, and which groups of stakeholders might be
affected Do you believe that management is well incentivised to minimise agency costs ”
“Which important external or internal factors have to be considered for private equity exit strategy and
timing that might adversely affect investment performance ”.
General Submission Requirements
Assessment submission instructions:
1. File saved as [ModuleCode_CandidateNumber]
2. Word count (3,500 words split 2,250 words for Part 1 and 1,250 for Part 2)
3. File format for submission (.docx)
Note that:
The word count excludes diagrams, tables, headings and references – the use of which are encouraged
to help make your case as compelling as possible but not as a means to write an extended investment
paper.
Academic references are not relevant to Part 1.
In Part 2, please apply the name-year format and provide a bibliography at the end if referencing any
academic or non-academic sources.
READING YOUR PAPER BEFORE SUBMISSION AND CHECKING FOR ERRORS IS A BASIC NEED FOR EVERY
PAPER AND FAILURE TO DO SO HAS A VERY NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE READER.
The submission deadline is 10am on Thursday 18th December 2025. Submissions after this will not be
accepted by the exam board.
Assessment Support Information
Tutorial sessions will feature case studies on businesses to assist students with understanding the approach
to both Part 1 and Part 2 of the assessment – and provide the opportunity to ask questions.
Separate assessment guidance/revision sessions are scheduled on 11th November 2025 (6pm Strand
S-2.18) and 16th December 2025 (4pm BH Auditorium (N)0).
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Marking Criteria
The examiners will adopt the perspective of the Investment Committee at the Private Equity firm (in Part 1)
and of an Academic Private Equity Research Group (in Part 2). Marks will be awarded based upon the
following four criteria:
Marking Criteria
Approximate
Weighting
Demonstrating your understanding of Private Equity 25%
Articulating a logical, holistic, investment case with relevant data points (in Part 1) and
an incisive academic analysis of your chosen business (in Part 2)
30%
Demonstrating original thought 30%
Presentation and use of Business English 15%
12
th August 2025