Envy ratio

Envy ratio, in finance, is the ratio of the price paid by investors to that paid by the management team for their respective shares of the equity. It is used to consider an opportunity for a management buyout. Managers are often allowed to invest at a lower valuation to make their ownership possible and to create a personal financial incentive for them to approve the buyout and to work diligently towards the success of the investment. The envy ratio is somewhat similar to the concept of financial leverage; managers can increase returns on their investments by using other investors' money.

Basic formula

Source^[1]

Example

If private equity investors paid $500M for 80% of a company's equity, and a management team paid $60M for 20%, then ER=(500/80)/(60/20)=2.08x. This means that the investors paid for a share 2.08 times more than did the managers. The ratio demonstrates how generous institutional investors are to a management team—the higher the ratio is, the better is the deal for management.^[2]

As a rule of thumb, management should be expected to invest anywhere from six months to one year’s gross salary to demonstrate commitment and have some "skin in the game".^[3] In any transaction, the envy ratio is affected by how keen the investors are to do the deal; the competition they are facing; and economic factors.^[4]

See also

• Management buy-in
• LBO
• Takeover
• Financial ratio

References

External links

• Envy Ratio
• Envy ratio in EVCA.com

Private equity and venture capital
Basic investment types	Buyout Venture Mezzanine Growth Secondaries Equity co-investment
History	History of private equity and venture capital Early history of private equity Private equity in the 1980s Private equity in the 1990s Private equity in the 2000s
Terms and concepts	Buyout Financial sponsor Management buyout Divisional buyout Buy–sell agreement Leveraged recapitalization Dividend recapitalization Venture Angel investor Business incubator Post-money valuation Pre-money valuation Seed money Startup company Venture capital financing Venture debt Venture round Structure Private equity firms and funds Limited partnership Limited liability company Carried interest Management fee Publicly traded private equity Business Development Company Venture capital trust Private investment in public equity (PIPE) Pledge fund
Investors	Corporations Institutional investors Pension funds Insurance companies Fund of funds Endowments Foundations Investment banks Merchant banks Commercial banks High-net-worth individuals Family offices Sovereign wealth funds Crowdfunding
Related financial terms	AUM Cap table Capital call Capital commitment Capital structure Distribution waterfall EBITDA Envy ratio High-yield debt IPO IRR Leverage Liquidation preference M&A PME Taxation of private equity and hedge funds Undercapitalization Vintage year
Private equity and venture capital investors Private equity firms Venture capital firms Angel investors Portfolio companies