Business Development Companies

Abstract

Through Business Development Companies (BDCs), large, well-known private equity firms have rushed to the market to raise billions of dollars in an extension of the private equity markets to the public equity markets. Large amounts of capital can be raised from the public equity markets more quickly than the typical 12 to 18 months to close a private equity fund. In this article, we trace the origins of BDCs, review their structure and provide a summary of recent deals. We also review the pros and cons of BDCs both from an investor's point of view as well as the private equity firm establishing the BDC. Last, we consider some of the risks associated with BDCs that are different from traditional private equity partnerships.