In April 2020, we wrote that private equity (PE) firms were consistently partnering with the leaders of their portfolio companies to identify potential actions to preserve cash and ensure liquidity. At the time, the decisiveness of those initial actions was reassuring. Yet today, many PE firms are questioning whether their portfolio companies will deliver the promised savings.One concern is that, in most markets, the COVID-19 pandemic is the first major economic crisis in a decade. A steep learning curve is to be expected as portfolio companies navigate it. Further, PE-firm leaders have often had the experience in which “big savings programs” do not translate into real results in P&L.A number of PE firms are taking a more forward-leaning approach. They are recommending process and behavioral changes to help their portfolio companies better measure and manage the work of saving cash and managing liquidity—work that can be critical to survival. Two approaches can support...
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