Private Equity Research Templates

Measure what really drives private equity returns, with 100+ Excel templates designed for numerous buyout, growth, and venture scenarios.

“ValueBridge.net helps busy private equity research analysts start building compelling value creation models in minutes.”

WHAT IS VALUEBRIDGE.NET?

Measure how private equity returns are driven by changes in portfolio company P&Ls, capital structures, and broader market conditions. Our private equity research templates work for investments that are levered or unlevered, buyout or growth, majority or minority, 10x or 0.1x. Best of all, they run on numbers that are usually already available in fund reporting and marketing materials.

Watch a 3-minute platform demonstration.

Subscribe today to save 33% on an Analyst Edition subscription, including full access to available video instruction, Excel templates, online calculators, module notes, references, case studies, community forums, and support.

Measure value driven by:

Company Performance

  • EBITDA, gross profit, revenue
  • Margins, operating expenses

Capital Structures

  • Leverage effect, gearing
  • Equity dilution
  • Valuation

Broader Market Forces

  • Market valuation multiples
  • Addressable market changes
  • Sector leverage levels
  • Foreign exchange rates

Financing Activities

  • Equity inflows and outflows
  • Debt financing
  • Add-on acquisitions
  • Dividend recapitalizations
EXAMPLE: ESG-DRIVEN GAINS AND LOSSES

Quantify the equity return impact of any Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiative that has a measurable impact on portfolio company capital structure or P&L.

ESG Trade-offs: Margins vs. Revenue

ESG Trade-offs: Margins vs. Revenue

Measure the equity return impact of variable-cost ESG initiatives and their influence on portfolio company revenue …
ESG Trade-offs: SG&A vs. Valuation

ESG Trade-offs: SG&A vs. Valuation

Measure the equity return impact of fixed-cost ESG initiatives and their influence on portfolio company valuation …

EXAMPLE: MARKET VS. MANAGER-DRIVEN RETURNS

Distinguish a Fund manager’s real value-add from broader market forces, like market valuation, addressable market, and foreign exchange rate changes. Create easier and more accurate alternatives to public market equivalence (PME), with market and economic data that is often available for little or no cost.

A Cross Border Value Bridge

A Cross Border Value Bridge

Measure GP value-add after the impact of market multiples, addressable markets, and foreign exchange rates in a cross border value …
Quick Cross Border Value Bridge

Quick Cross Border Value Bridge

Quickly measure the market vs. manager IRR, with a handful of market multiple, addressable market, and FX data points …
Cross Border Return Matrix

Cross Border Return Matrix

Build a cross border return matrix to rapidly evaluate GP-driven returns vs. market forces in private equity portfolios …

EXAMPLE: VALUE CREATION FUNDAMENTALS

Fix pervasive problems in value creation models that are commonly used by private equity investors, as well as academic and industry researchers.

How to fix a broken value bridge

How to fix a broken value bridge

Private equity value creation models used by GPs and LPs, and even academic and industry researchers, usually fail to capture …
Why value bridges need an equity dilution or concentration value driver

Why value bridges need an equity dilution or concentration value driver

If you plan to use private equity value creation models to understand the sources of Fund or GP returns, you …

HOW DOES VALUEBRIDGE.NET WORK?

Find the private equity research templates that are best suited to your application using the site’s search bar or filtering by categories and value creation metrics. Each module and case study includes detailed instructions, with step-by-step examples and resources that enable analysts to check their own spreadsheets for errors.

Learn exactly which equations to use, where to find data, and how to set up your spreadsheets, all in about 5-6 minutes.

Excel Templates

Save time by starting with pre-built value creation templates that are already optimized for your application.

Online Calculators

Ensure that your models are correct by checking against the site’s fail-proof online value creation calculators.

Detailed Examples

No more guesswork due to step-by-step examples, clearly defined variables and equations, and links to proofs and further reading.

HOW DO THE MICROSOFT EXCEL TEMPLATES WORK?

Jumpstart your value creation models ValueBridge.net private equity research templates.

Watch a 5-minute Excel template demonstration.

How to start building private equity value creation models, immediately:

  • Find the best Module or Case Study to use as a starting point
  • Start on the right tab (EBITDA or revenue-base valuation)
  • Only change the value creation inputs (independent variables)
  • Choose a value creation model (Derivative or Logarithmic)
  • Pick one of five value creation measurements (absolute ($), relative (%), IRR, etc.)
  • Customize the output (charts) to best tell your story

HOW DO THE ONLINE VALUE CREATION CALCULATORS WORK?

Online calculators perform the same math as the Excel templates, but they cannot be altered or broken through human error.

Watch a 5-minute online calculator demonstration.

Consider using the online calculators to occasionally spot-check your Excel models. Certainly do so before significant events, like including results in an Investment Committee Memo.

WHO ARE VALUEBRIDGE.NET SUBSCRIBERS?

Private equity research professionals, who need robust and reliable private equity research models, today!

General Partners

DIFFERENTIATE!

Raise more capital by telling better stories

Use data to show how your investment approach and value creation strategies drive returns.

Limited Partners

VALIDATE!

Make sure narratives are supported by numbers

Measure if GP initiatives materially impact portfolio company capital structures, P&Ls, and valuations.

Industry Researchers

CALCULATE!

Expand the universe of analyzable companies

Models rely on practical and accessible inputs that allow a larger number of companies to be analyzed.

WHAT DOES A VALUEBRIDGE.NET SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDE?

100% of available ValueBridge.net content, including video instruction, value creation templates, online calculators, module notes, references, case studies, community forums, and support.

Video
Instruction

Excel
Templates

Online
Calculators

Detailed
Examples

References

Case
Studies

Forums

Support

WHAT CONTENT IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE?

Over 70% of content for the first 40 ValueBridge.net Modules is already complete. Nearly all the private equity research templates are available and written instruction, with step-by-step examples, has been provided for more than 90% of Modules. Video instruction is available for all the major value drivers related to investment performance, capital structures, and broader market forces. Additional content is being added every week, and most of the remaining material will be completed in 2024.

Module Component Availability


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Module
Written
Instruction

Video
Instruction
Excel
Templates
Online
Calculators
01Net MOIC and Net IRR✅✅✅✅
02Equity Dilution and Equity Concentration✅✅✅✅
03Unlevered Return and the Leverage Effect✅✅✅✅
04EBITDA Growth and EBITDA Multiple Expansion✅✅✅✅
05Revenue Growth and Revenue Multiple Expansion✅✅✅✅
06Dependent and Independent Variables✅✅✅✅
07Five ways to Measure Private Equity Returns✅✅✅✅
08Gearing and Cashflow in an LBO✅✅✅✅
09Gearing and Cashflow in a Growth Investment✅✅✅✅
10Interest Costs and Debt Tax Shield✅✅✅
11Revenue Growth and EBITDA Margin Expansion✅✅✅✅
12Gross Margin Expansion and Operating Margin Reduction✅✅✅✅
13Market-driven Multiple Expansion✅✅✅✅
14Market Multiple Data Sources
15Market-driven Revenue Growth✅✅✅✅
16Addressable Market Data Sources
17Sector-appropriate Gearing✅✅✅✅
18Other Market Drivers✅✅✅
19Market versus Manager-driven Returns✅✅✅
20The Market Return Matrix
21Foreign Exchange Rates✅✅
22Five Mistakes that GPs Make✅✅✅
23Acquisition Adjustments (I)✅✅
24Acquisition Adjustments (II)✅✅
25Exit Adjustments (I)✅✅✅
26Exit Adjustments (II)✅✅
27Holding Period Inflows and Outflows✅✅✅
28Follow-on Equity Investments✅✅✅
28Equity Distributions✅✅✅
30Add-on Acquisitions✅✅✅
31Divestments✅✅✅
32Debt Financing✅✅✅
33Dividend Recapitalizations✅✅✅
34Earn Outs✅✅✅
35Multiple Holding Period Inflows and Outflows✅✅✅
36The Effective IRR✅✅✅
37Value Creation over Time✅✅
38Value Creation across Valuation Domains✅✅
39Aggregate Value Creation across Portfolios✅✅
40Net Return-based Value Drivers✅✅

DOES A VALUEBRIDGE.NET SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDE SUPPORT?

ValueBridge.net intends to give analysts everything they need to solve a particular problem, but we may not get that right every time.

Subscribers can ask questions in the Forum or in the comments section of Case Studies. For problems and applications that are not yet covered by the site’s modules or Excel templates, subscribers can use the site’s Support features to contact us by email, telephone, Zoom, Meet, etc.

WHAT ARE VALUEBRIDGE.NET CASE STUDIES?

Case Studies highlight interesting applications of ValueBridge.net mathematics, as well as other platform features. A few case studies have already been completed, but this section will become more active (and interesting) in 2024.

Non-subscribers can view some of the case study content, but active subscriptions are required to comment or download related value creation templates.

WHAT IS THE VALUEBRIDGE.NET FORUM?

The Forum section currently highlights updates that are being made to the site. Subscribers can access all forum content, create topics ask questions, and post replies, so this section may become more interesting as subscribers join the site.

WHO RUNS VALUEBRIDGE.NET?

Mike Reinard has been working with private equity GPs and institutional LPs for over 15 years. He helps fund managers tackle resource intensive financial analysis, marketing, fundraising, and investor relations projects (e.g., creating complex portfolio analyses, writing the next private placement memorandum, or building a custom direct deal sourcing software application, etc.).

Mike specializes in the mathematics of private equity. He wrote the book Private Equity Value Creation Analysis in 2020 and also runs the private equity mathematics website AUXILIA Mathematica.

WHAT IS PRIVATE EQUITY VALUE CREATION ANALYSIS?

Published in 2020, Private Equity Value Creation Analysis is a top private equity book on Amazon.com. It is a comprehensive handbook for the analysis of private companies and portfolios. Its framework quantifies how leverage, valuation, company P&Ls, market and industry trends, and other factors drive equity returns. Such analyses are used by private equity and venture capital fund managers to explain their approaches to buying and selling companies and by institutional investors to validate them.

Specifically designed for the particularities of private equity ownership, the book’s value creation models are mathematically rigorous and based on metrics that are practical and accessible (i.e., those generally found in fund manager reporting and marketing materials). Formulas are built to function over the widest range of company, industry, and market conditions and provide intuitive and non-volatile results.

WHAT IS AUXILIA MATHEMATICA?

AUXILIA Mathematica was started as a private equity math blog in 2019. The articles, value creation templates, and online calculators initially posted there led to a rigorous mathematical framework that formed the basis of the book Private Equity Value Creation Analysis, published at the end of 2020.

Since 2021, AUXILIA Mathematica has been exploring and explaining the mathematics of private equity through video, on the site and AUXILIA Mathematica’s YouTube page. These videos describe the math in the book and additional applications, with a focus on proofs, derivations, and direct comparisons with other models used in academic and industry research.

HOW ARE VALUEBRIDGE.NET AND AUXILIA MATHEMATICA DIFFERENT?

ValueBridge.net is application-focused and subscription-based. Each of the 40 ValueBridge.net modules includes downloadable value creation templates, short video demonstrations, step-by-step examples, and online value creation calculators that test models for errors.

AUXILIA Mathematica is theory-focused and free with registration. Content often includes detailed proofs, derivations, and direct comparisons with other models used in academic and industry research. Excel templates and online value creation calculators are available for some (not all) topics on the site.

ValueBridge.net is designed for private equity analysts who want immediate results and generally lack the time or inclination to read a 240-page math book or spend five hours watching video on the AUXILIA Mathematica YouTube page.

HOW MUCH DOES A VALUEBRIDGE.NET SUBSCRIPTION COST?

Sign up before May 31, 2024 to save 33% on Analyst Edition pricing below:

  • $25.00 USD per month, billed monthly
  • $20.00 USD per month, billed quarterly ($60 USD per quarter)
  • $15.00 USD per month, billed annually ($180 USD per year)

WILL MY SUBSCRIPTION AUTO-RENEW?

Yes. Your subscription will renew either monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending upon options chosen at sign-up. You can manage payment methods or cancel the subscription on your Account page.

CAN I CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION?

Yes, you can do so with one click on your Account page.