Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity

Overview

Academic Directors

  • Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler
  • Dr. Benjamin Hammer

Research Associates

  • Ross Drapalski
  • Osei Kwabena Brefo

Research Areas

  • Private equity
  • Mergers & acquisitions
  • Valuation

Supporters

Andersch AG; AssetMetrix; Astorius; CARLSQUARE; Hauck&Aufhäuser; Live & Learn Events by Fachmedien otto schmidt, Nordic Capital; Palero; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

What we do

In recent years, the importance of private equity (PE) as an asset class has rapidly increased and deal activity has surged to record levels. Still it is understudied academically and success factors of PE investments are not yet fully understood. The Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity (CCTPE) is a think tank for private equity buyouts that aims at closing this gap. The purpose of the Center is to foster high quality research output, and provide a platform for renowned scholars and industry professionals at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management – one of the leading business schools in Europe. Over the past years, a team of renowned and experienced scholars has created a competitive database on PE buyouts and received considerable media attention as well as several scientific awards for its research. Several high-profile companies and individuals are partnering with us to further expand our database and research. We gratefully acknowledge support by Andersch AG; AssetMetrix; Astorius; Börsen-Zeitung (WM Gruppe); CARLSQUARE; EY; Hauck&Aufhäuser; Neuberger Berman; Nordic Capital; Palero; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; The Boston Consulting Group and ValueTrust as well as by an HHL alumnus.

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Our Mission

Methodological Excellence

It is the mission of the CCTPE to provide reliable results for every-day financial decision-making. All our research focuses on high quality academic journals and the most renowned conferences in the profession.

Practical Orientation

It is the mission of the CCTPE to work on impact topics that are close to the zeitgeist of the industry.

International Network

It is the mission of the CCTPE to provide a platform for renowned international scholars and professionals and boundary-crossing research.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler and Dr. Benjamin Hammer, Academic Directors of the Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity (CCTPE)

Research

PE Buyout Database

Our database covers global private equity buyouts since 1997.
We use various commercial data providers as the basis and consolidate the data as well as add hand-collected information.
The database is constantly maintained and expanded by a group of  doctoral students.

Academic Papers

We regularly publish in leading peer-reviewed academic journals. Some topics that we currently work on:

  • Buy and Build strategies
  • Cross-border buyouts
  • Secondary buyouts
  • Specialist vs. generalist funds
  • Buyouts in the SME segment
  • Gender and skill diversity
  • PE-backed IPOs

Benjamin Hammer, Alexander Knauer, Magnus Pflücke, Bernhard Schwetzler: Inorganic growth strategies and the evolution of the private equity business model

White Papers

We regularly join forces with opinion leaders to provide decision-makers with state of the art analyses on hot topics in the private equity industry. Recent papers:

  • How to attract a premium listing multiple (joint research with The Boston Consulting Group)
  • Cracking the code in private equity software deals (joint research with The Boston Consulting Group)
  • The power of buy and build – How private equity firms fuel next-level value creation (joint research with The Boston Consulting Group)

Palero Capital Award

The Center for Corporate Transactions & Private Equity (CCTPE) at HHL is a leading think tank for private equity research. It is the mission of the CCTPE to provide reliable research results for everyday decision-making in the private equity industry.

Palero Capital, the exclusive advisor of an independent private equity fund in Luxemburg, was co-founded by HHL alumna Conny Wuppermann and the first supporter of the CCTPE. The call for submissions for the Best Master Thesis in Private Equity honors Palero Capital for its trust in establishing the #1 Think Tank for Private Equity Research at HHL. The award is endowed with EUR 500. Decisions will be made by a review committee including experts from academia and practice.

Winner of the Palero Capital Award - Best HHL Master Thesis in Private Equity

  • Jan Hendrik Degner (2020): Turning the football field upside down: Empirical evidence of private equity investors’ abilities to outprice strategic acquirers in M&A transactions
  • Christian Schöppel (2021): Die Bewertung von Cashflow-Sonderrechten in VC-Beteiligungsverträgen – Auswirkungen auf die Bilanzbewertung
  • Tobias Schmitt (2022): Investment criteria of impact investors. Are there commonalities and a common understanding to define a universal standard?

    CCTPE Private Equity Scholarship for Collaborative Research with Fund of Funds (Doctoral Program)

    The CCTPE aims at expanding its cooperation with Fund of Funds, which have been an engine for cutting-edge research on private equity in recent years. To achieve this goal and attract suitable candidates for the doctoral program, HHL offers the Private Equity Scholarship for Collaborative Research with Fund of Funds. Successful candidates will receive a 50% waiver for the tuition fees for the doctoral program at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management.

      Awards

      HHL Research Award 2018

      Dr. Heiko Hinrichs (left in the picture above, right HHL Dean Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner)
      Awarded as best research associate at HHL in 2018

      ZKB Best Paper Award 2018

      Dr. Robert Loos (picture) and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler: “Fueling the buyout machine: Fundraising in private equity”
      Awarded for the best article on a subject of high practical relevance by the journal Financial Markets and Portfolio Management

      BAI Science Prize in Alternative Investments 2018

      Dr. Benjamin Hammer (picture above from left to right: Prof. Dr. Rolf Tilmes, Dr. Benjamin Hammer, Prof. Dr. Mark Mietzner) was awarded with the BAI Science Prize in Alternative Investments 2018 for his dissertation “Three Essays on Buy-and-Build Strategies and Default Probabilities in the Private Equity Industry”, which he completed in April 2017 at HHL under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler.

      Our Alumni – A Growing Network

      Dr. Robert Loos
      Private Equity Investment Professional at EQT | Alumnus Doctoral Program

      As an alumnus of HHL’s Chair of Financial Management, I am proud and happy to see the successful launch of the Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity. After having myself moved from academia back to business as a private equity investment professional, I strongly second CCPTE’s focus on high quality research while maintaining close ties to the practical world of investing and deal making at the same time.

      Dr. Lisa Uhlenkamp
      Senior Consultant, McKinsey & Company | Alumna Doctoral Program

      At the Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity I was working with a group of very bright minds, that were passionately investigating highly relevant topics both to academia and practitioners. That made it very inspiring for me. To see my research topics being highly looked after by practitioners confirmed my choice for the CCTPE.

      Dr. Sven Mettner
      Engagement Manager, McKinsey & Company | Alumnus Doctoral Program

      At the CCPTE, I experienced the perfectly suited conditions for qualitative academic and practically relevant research – with access to a strong network of practitioners, a unique PE database and experienced academics. The feedback, we got from renowned conferences and academic journals affirms this.

      Dr. Nils Janssen
      Senior Consultant, McKinsey & Company | Alumnus Doctoral Program

      As a doctoral candidate at the Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity I was able to work on the forefront of academic research on private equity and develop knowledge relevant for both academia and practice.

      Dr. Nils Härtel
      Consultant, Boston Consulting Group | Alumnus Doctoral Program

      My doctorate at the CCTPE was personally enriching in several ways: exploring my interests in private equity research, gaining deeper insights into scientific work, discussing and partnering with other researchers (at conferences) around the world – and by doing so meaningfully linking theory and practice.

      Dr. Heiko Hinrichs
      Private Equity Investment Professional, Bencis Capital Partners | Alumnus Doctoral Program

      The CCTPE is excellently positioned both in academia and practice. During my time at the Center, we presented our work at renowned conferences, published in high-quality academic journals and joined forces with key opinion leaders to solve practical problems.

      Our Guest Speakers

      Dr. Thomas A. Jesch, LL.M. Taxation (Georgetown)
      Managing Board Member, bii. German Association of Institutional Investors

      Private equity is a promising asset class. Fund managers and investors alike can only tap its potential if they have the appropriate know-how. HHL offers a unique combination of theoretical and empirical depth blended with cases studies and industry dialogue. I am pleased to be able to make a small contribution as a guest speaker.

      Michael Moritz
      Managing Partner, Carlsquare GmbH

      Carlsquare truly appreciates the cooperation with the Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity, which gives us the opportunity to share and discuss our insights from the midcap M&A practice with an interested student audience.

      Our Supporters

      The CCTPE ist supported by various high-profile companies and individuals: Andersch AG; AssetMetrix; Astorius; CARLSQUARE; Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank AG; Live & Learn Events by Fachmedien otto schmidt; Nordic Capital; Palero; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as well an anonymous HHL alumnus.

      Our Team

      Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler
      Academic Director | Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity (CCTPE)
      About
      Dr. Benjamin Hammer
      Academic Director
      About
      Ross Drapalski
      Research Associate
      About
      Osei Kwabena Brefo
      Research Associate
      About
      Philipp Pollmann
      Research Associate
      About
      Yilmaz Bekyol
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Max Berninghaus
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Felix Bogateck
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Jahn Fischer
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Marvin Gindele
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Philipp Heisig
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Marius Kaiser
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Nikolaus Marcotty-Dehm
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Lukas Oswald
      External Doctoral Candidate
      Clara M. Schomaecker
      External Doctoral Candidate