Center for Corporate Transactions and Private Equity

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.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler

Having joined HHL right from the start in 1995, I am actually one of the “oldest” HHL professors. My original plan was to stay for some years in Leipzig and help building and developing HHL as an international business school, and then return to a University in Bavaria (where I’m from). When I received the offer of the University of Ingolstadt in the early 2000´s I realized that HHL had been developing into a truly international place with excellent students from all over the world, an international faculty and excellent working conditions. Additionally, over the years I had learned about Leipzig as a young, fast growing and international city with a vibrant cultural scene. So I decided to reject the offer and stay at HHL and in Leipzig and ever since then I have never regretted this.
At the Chair of Financial Management, which I held until December 1, 2024, we had specialized in two particular research areas: corporate valuation and private equity. On the first field (corporate valuation) I was able to transfer some of my practical experience as transaction advisor, court expert and member of several academic boards into the lecture hall by combining it with theoretical valuation approaches. In the second field of private equity I am particularly proud of our track record of highly ranked publications and of  several Best Paper Awards” that we were able to win at internationally renowned research conferences.
My teaching philosophy is to two-pronged: First we give students a solid basis in financial theory and thus provide them with “safe grounds” necessary to ask the right questions. In a second step we then apply this theoretical concepts on practical problems and decisions in corporate finance and M&A. Thus my goal can be best described as “combining the best of both worlds”.

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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.

Publications