Andreas Hammer, Robert Loos, Bernhard Schwetzler

• We study the impact of PE firm and buyout characteristics on default probability employing a Cox proportional hazards model to a global sample of 5,093 buyouts between 1997 and 2012. Our results indicate that iestments of generalists have lower default probability than those of specialists. However, industry specialization reduces default probability if stated focus and target industry match. Iestments of captive PE firms and secondary buyouts are more likely to default, while the opposite holds true for syndicated iestments. In sum, our findings indicate that increasing heterogeneity within a maturing PE market goes along with increasing heterogeneity in default probabilities.