The Dealmaker - by Guy Hands (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An inside account of the multi-billion pound world of private equity and a masterclass on the art of deal-making.

The Dealmaker is a frank and honest account of how a severely dyslexic child who struggled at school went on to graduate from Oxford and become a serial entrepreneur. It describes Guy Hand's career in private equity, first at Nomura and then as head of his own company, Terra Firma.

It looks in detail at the huge deals that Terra Firma has done over the years, involving everything from cinema chains and pubs to waste management, aircraft leasing and green energy. And it offers a brutally honest appraisal of the deal that almost bankrupted him - the acquisition of multinational music recording and publishing company EMI in 2007, just as a global financial crash loomed on the horizon.

Above all, it takes the reader inside the previously very secretive world of private equity, explaining how this multi-billion pound sector operates and what opportunities it offers. Both insightful and page-turning, it will prove inspirational and essential reading for all those concerned with or interested in the world of investment.

Review Quotes

The only book about private equity to read like a thriller.--The Times

Very far from being the typical business book destined to be forgotten shortly after publication. It grips the reader from the first page . . . [It does] a superb job of explaining how private equity works . . . there are some very useful investment lessons . . . This book should definitely be on your reading list.--Money Week

If you are curious to learn the secrets of these financial alchemists, here is your chance to do so from the very best.--Business Standard

A brutally honest book about his world of high-stakes deal-making and the emotional fallout.--The Times

About the Author

Guy Hands, who was born in 1959, graduated with an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Mansfield College, Oxford, and then went to work for Goldman Sachs International where he became Head of Eurobond Trading, and then Head of Goldman Sachs' Global Asset Structuring Group. He left Goldman Sachs in 1994 for Nomura International plc where he established PFG before spinning out Terra Firma as an independent private equity firm in 2002. Since then, he has overseen the investment of 17 billion of equity in 35 businesses with an aggregate value of 48 billion.