Prof Christopher Kummer
Professor Christopher Kummer, M&A expert and director of graduate business programmes at Webster University in Vienna, has chosen the term 'equity carve-out'

Every week, a business school professor, an expert in his or her field, defines a key term on FT Lexicon, our online economics, business and finance glossary.

Our professor this week

Christopher Kummer is a professor and adviser on strategy and mergers and acquisitions. In his academic role, he is the director of graduate business programmes and faculty member at Webster University in Vienna. As president of the Institute of Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances, a non-profit think-tank on M&A issues, he is frequently invited to speak and provide commentary and training in the US, Europe and Asia. Prof Kummer is also an affiliated faculty member at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, at Grenoble Ecole de Management and at Hult International Business School.

Outside the world of academia, Prof Kummer has gained practical experience in the corporate finance arena with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Frankfurt, Zurich and Moscow and continues to serve clients as an adviser on strategy and M&A related projects in Europe and Asia. As an executive searcher, he also recruited independent board members and C-suite executives for listed and privately held companies in Europe and the US.

Prof Kummer holds a graduate degree from the University of St Gallen (HSG), Switzerland and a PhD on mergers & acquisitions from the Technical University in Berlin, Germany.

Prof Kummer has chosen to define the term “equity carve-out” on FT Lexicon.

Why Prof Kummer things the term equity carve-out is important

“For governments, equity carve-outs are one of the most important paths to privatisation,” says Prof Kummer. “For companies that have become stretched and diversified in their activities, this M&A technique can be a good step to increase the focus of company while benefiting from an increase in valuation.”

To learn more about equity carve-outs, go to the term in FT Lexicon by clicking on the link.

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