Private Equity Disputes Through an Expert’s Lens

What happens when private equity investments go sour? In our latest contribution to Global Arbitration Review Asia-Pacific Arbitration Review 2023, Karthik Balisagar, Yaoguo Lun and Ishani Vora discuss disputes arising from private equity investments. They present interesting expert issues underlying such disputes and share insights on expert evidence.

This is an extract from GAR’s The Asia-Pacific Arbitration Review 2023, first published in May 2022. The whole publication is available at https://globalarbitrationreview.com/review/the-asia-pacific-arbitration-review/2023

“Private equity (PE) refers to investments in shares of companies that are not publicly traded. PE investments are commonly perceived by investors as an alternative to conventional asset classes (such as public equity, fixed income and cash). PE investors and PE funds typically provide financing by purchasing controlling or minority shareholdings in a private company or buying out public companies, which results in their delisting.

Recent global events including the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict in Ukraine have had (and will likely continue to have) macroeconomic repercussions. These may result in investments underperforming against expectations or being distressed, which is often exacerbated in PE investments given the high levels of debt used to fund these investments and limited timelines for generating returns. These factors may, in turn, lead to an increase in PE disputes.”

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd