Private Equity Minority Investments - Universität St.Gallen

AcknowledgementsThe process of writing my doctoral thesis would have been impossiblewithout the professional and personal support and advice of many people. Iwould like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to them.First and foremost, I sincerely thank my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Peter Nobelof the University of St. Gallen, who, with his wealth of legal knowledgeand experience, provided valuable academic advice, insights and much foodfor thought. I am equally grateful to Prof. Dr. Dr. Ann-Kristin Achleitner ofthe Technical University of Munich, my co-supervisor, for her deepeconomic expertise, guidance, enthusiasm, and motivation. I have beenvery fortunate to have worked with two such outstanding scholars whom Ideeply admire.In writing this dissertation, I benefited from numerous interviews withprivate equity professionals whom I would like to thank for sharing theirexperiences with and views of private equity minority investments. I amespecially grateful to Dr. Björn Böckenförde for sharing his time,knowledge, and experiences, along with his trust and openness, all of whichwere highly instrumental in preparing the case study.Special thanks for the ongoing discussions on this research are due to myfriends and colleagues. In particular, I am grateful to Dr. Julia Gentgen, Dr.Magdalena Haslinger, Simon Pfennigsdorf, and Nadine Wahlquist.Lastly, I would like to thank my brother, Stefan Söding, for his enduringsupport throughout the writing phase, and my parents, Dr. Helga Södingand Dr. Herbert Greiner, who enabled my education and supported me inevery respect throughout my entire life. Without their love andunconditional support, I would not be where I am today.Zurich, May 2011Judith Verena Söding