The Dealmaker: Lessons from a Life in Private Equity

An insider explains the world of private equity

Private equity - which buys, invests in and then sells on companies - is a powerful force in the business world today, worth many billions of dollars. Yet despite the muscle it flexes, it’s a sector that is largely closed off to outsiders, operating behind the scenes and shunning publicity.

In The Dealmaker, Guy Hands, one of the stars of the private equity firmament, reveals how it works through the prism of his own career. He tells how a dyslexic child who struggled at school became an Oxford graduate and serial entrepreneur, before embarking on a private equity career, first at Nomura and then as head of his own company, Terra Firma. He looks at the huge deals that Terra Firma has done over the years, involving everything from cinema chains to pubs to waste management to aircraft leasing. He also appraises the one deal that turned sour - the acquisition of multinational music recording and publishing company EMI in 2007. His insights will prove essential reading for all those concerned with or interested in the world of investment.