# Software buyout cohort methodology

## Cohort

The study contains 25 large sponsor-led software take-private transactions announced from 2020 through 2022. The bounded universe is designed for a transaction-level control and ownership-event audit, not for estimating the performance of all software private equity deals.

## Value basis

Headline transaction value follows the company-reported announcement convention for each row. Those conventions are mixed: some announcements use enterprise value, some use equity value, and some use another headline formulation. The $171.2 billion total sizes the cohort. It is not sponsor equity invested, debt funded, current enterprise value, net asset value, or realized proceeds.

## Outcome hierarchy

1. Full sponsor realization: a completed sale, broad public distribution, or equivalent transfer removes the original sponsor group's control.
2. Partial liquidity: the sponsor obtains a liquidity route or proceeds but retains control.
3. Completed creditor transfer: creditors have completed a control transfer away from the sponsor.
4. Signed creditor transfer: a creditor-led transfer is signed but not completed at the cutoff.
5. Continuing sponsor ownership: the original sponsor group remains in control and no higher-priority classification applies.

Current-control evidence takes precedence over transaction labels. An IPO is therefore not automatically a full realization. A public company can remain sponsor-controlled through voting power, board rights, ownership concentration, or contractual control.

## Return boundary

The public record can support current-control and ownership-event classifications. It generally cannot support a cohort MOIC, IRR, DPI, or impairment estimate. A return calculation would require sponsor equity contributions, acquisition debt, add-on investment, operating cash retained or distributed, dividend proceeds, partial-sale proceeds, continuation-vehicle pricing, management dilution, fees, fund allocations, and current marks.

## Counter-case

A zero-realization count at the August 17, 2026 cutoff does not imply zero future realizations. Most cohort companies were only three to five years into ownership, while technology holding periods at exit had lengthened to roughly five years by the end of 2025. The defensible conclusion is that conventional realization has been delayed and ownership outcomes have fragmented, not that every deal is permanently impaired.