What is a management fee PE firms charge their portfolio companies? How is that fee determined and is it usually paid every year?
Additionally, when a PE Firm buys a company, they usually pass on certain "transaction fees" to the company. What are typical examples of such transaction fees?
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Re 1: Not entirely sure how that fee is determined but it is usually charged for consulting services (or so I was told). There might also be a legal angle, not entirely sure. From what I've seen it's paid every year.
Re 2: Transaction fees include but might not be limited to costs for commercial and legal due diligence. In other words: consultants, accountants, lawyers.
On #1: The management fee is determined by the PE firm and is usually based on the size of the company. Sometimes it is known as a "monitoring fee" which basically means the company pays the PE firm for providing oversight. It is usually paid quarterly.
On #2: In addition to transaction fees associated with 3rd party service providers, the PE firm will charge a "closing fee" which is basically a one-time fee to the company. While this and the fee from #1 may seem ridiculous, remember that the PE firm owns the majority of the company so they are pretty much just paying themselves...
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