For a third consecutive year, Keystone (the General Manager of GrowthGate) has published a white paper that is the collective work of: (i) Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty members (MBA – Class 2012), (ii) Prof. Josh Lerner of HBS and one of the leading authorities on Private Equity (PE) in the US; and (iii) members of Keystone’s combined investment advisory and portfolio management teams. All contributors have labored over 3 months in researching, debating, data mining and analyzing the facts, figures, statements, market trends and PE patterns. The recorded findings are firmly grounded in empirical evidence, which has been extracted partly from in-depth research & analysis and largely from direct interviews, briefings and discussions with managers of PE firms, LPs, as well as, extensive interactions with Keystone.

Keystone has set the theme and tempo of the white paper, which addresses a crucial topic for the PE industry globally and, in the MENA region, in particular. The subject matter discussed relates to the importance of operational enhancements in portfolio companies as an integral part of the value creation process beyond the traditional leverage and multiple appreciation stratagems and the increased importance of operational value-creation in our region.  Whilst other PE firms have sidelined the importance of operational value-creation, or adopted it under pressure or as a last-resort panacea when all other avenues failed, GrowthGate has made it the epicenter of its investment philosophy since inception.