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原文：Family-FirmBuyouts,PrivateEquity,andStrategicChangeTheEuropeanprivateequityandbuyoutmarket'hasgrowninprominenceoverrecentyears.TheCentreforManagementBuyoutResearch(CMBOR，2008)hasshownthattheannualnumberofmanagementbuyoutsrosefroml212in1998to1,436bytheendof2007.Buyoutsoffamilyfirmsrepresentoneofthemostimportantfeaturesofthismarket,withthenumberofdealsincreasingfrom45in1998to559in2007andthecombinedvaluefrom11.2billionto18,3billionoverthesameperiod.In2007familyfirmscontributed38%ofthenumberand11%ofthevalueofthewholeEuropeanbuyoutmarket.Managementbuyouts(MBO)andbuy-ins(MBI)thusrepresentanimportantsuccessionoptioninfamilyfirms.Theyalsoprovideanimportantdealsourceforprivateequityfirms.Yet,whilemuchattentionintheprivateequityandbuyoutmarkethasbeenonlargepublic-to-privatetransactions,thefamilybuyoutpartofthemarketisnotwellunderstood(Cumming,SiegelandWright，2007).Thefocusinlargepublic-to-privatetransactionsanddivisionalbuyoutshasbeenontheresolutionofincentiveandcontrolproblemsthroughtheintroductionofnewownershipandgovernancestructuresintheformofmanagerialequityownership,commitmentandpressuretoservicedebt,andinmanycasesownershipandactiveinvolvementbyprivateequityfirms(WrightandBruining，2008).Incontrast,thetypicalfamilyfirmhastraditionallybeenassumedtobeownedandmanagedbyaconcentratedgroupoffamilymemberswherethefirm'sobjectivesarecloselylinkedtofamilyobjectives.Familiestypicallydonotregardtheirfirmsasmereeconomicunitspursuingthegoalofprofitmaximization.Instead,familiesalsostrivefornoneconomicgoals.Asaresult,thetightnessofgripofafamilyoveritsfirmaddsanimportantdimensiontotheanalysisofthestrategiesoffamilyfirms.Thechangesoccurringonthebuyoutofafamilyfirmmayleadtochangesingoalsandstrategiescomparedtothepreviousownershipregime,andthesestrategicchangesmayinfluencefirmsurvivalorfailure.Thechangeinstrategyismotivatedbyoneofthefollowingtwofactors;first,thefirmmayhavebeenunderperformingandnewstrategiesmustbeadoptedtocorrectthis(efficiencybuyout).Second,thenewownerswillhavethefreedomtopursuetheirowninterestsintermsofbusinessdirectionand/ordiversification(growth/expansionbuyout).Thepresenceoffounders,shareholdingnon-familymanagers,ornonfamilynon-executivedirectorsontheboardmayhavedifferenteffectsonthebuyoutprocessandonthebusinessstrategiesadoptedbeforeandafterthebuyout.Changesinstrategyarealsoduetotheownershipandgovernanceofthefirmbeforethebuyoutaswellasthenewfinancialstructureandtheneedtomeetresultantservicingcosts.Inlightoftheseissues,thepurposeofthisarticleistwofold;1.Weprovideanoverviewofdevelopmentsinthefamily-firmbuyoutmarket.Specifically,weexaminetrendsinthenumberandvalueofdeals,dealsizes,shareofthetotalbuyoutmarket,employment,andtheroleofprivateequity.WeuseCMBOR'suniquedatabasecomprisingthepopulationof30,000Europeanbuyoutsasthesourceforthisanalysis.2.Weundertakeadetailedstudyofstrategicchangesinfamilyfirmsasaresultofabuyout.Specifically,weexaminewhetherchangesinthestrategyofformerprivatefamilyfirmsareaffectedbytheownershipandgovernanceofthefirmbeforethebuyout.Theseissuesareexaminedusinganovelhand-collectedrepresentativequestionnairesurveyof104privatefamilyfirmsacrossEuropewhichhadabuyoutfundedbyprivateequitybetween1994and2003.Familyfirmsprovideaconstantandabundantsourceofpotentialtargetsforincumbentmanagersandprivateequity(PE)companies.Buyoutsoffamilyfirmsenabletheresolutionofsuccessionproblemsand.Bycatalyzingentrepreneurialactivity,canimprovetheoperatingefficiencyofthefirmandenablegrowth.Thissectionpresentsanoverviewoftrendsinthisimportantpartofthebuyoutmarket,focusingonnumberandvalueofdeals,dealsizes,shareofthetotalbuyoutmarket,employment,andtheroleofprivateequity.Alldatarefertobuyouttransactionsoffamilyfirmsunlessotherwisestated,andalldatarefertoEuropeunlessotherwisestated.In2007,559family-firmbuyoutsandbuy-inswererecordedbyCMBORacrossEurope,amountingtoatotalvalueof18.3billion.Therehadbeenadipinbuyoutactivitybetween2000and2003,inlinewithasomewhatweakeroverallbuyoutmarketduringthatperiod.Sincethenbuyoutactivityinfamilyfirmshasrecovered,andthe2007figurewasanewrecordbynumberandvalue.AcomparisonoftrendsbycountryrevealsthattheincreaseindealnumbershasbeenrelativelyuniformacrossmostofEurope.Overthepast10years,buyoutactivityintermsofnumberoftransactionshasincreasedinmostnationalmarkets.Thetotalvalueoffamily-firmbuyoutshasfluctuatedonanannualbasisinmanyoftheEuropeanmarkets,andnoclearpatternhasemerged.However,duetotheriseinnumberofthistypeofbuyout,thetotalvaluereachedanewrecordin2007.Theaveragedealsizeofbuyoutsoffamilyfirmsismuchlowerthantheaveragedealsizeofalltransactions.Thetrendintheaveragedealsizeoffamilybuyoutsoverthepast10yearsshowsthatthesedealshaveremainedatarelativelyconstantlevelofabout26m,whileaveragedealsizeforallbuyoutshasincreasedsignificantly,from36min1998toalmost120millionin2007.Thisincreasinggapreflectsthemajorgrowthinlargepublic-to-privates,divestments,andsecondarybuyoutsacrossEuropeinrecentyears.Familyfirmshavebeenaconstantandabundantsourceofbuyouts.Between1998and2007,about29%ofallbuyoutsinEuropewerefamily-