Add to ORKGIn this paper, we study to what extent French LBOs investment policy and operations can explain their overperformance discrepancy. Our empirical study has been carried out on 132 French LBOs between 1989 and 1994. The results show that the abnormal falling of their economic return cannot be explained neither by overinvestment nor by a lack of efficiency in their working capital management. Nevertheless, abnormal in-creases in wages, in supplies and/or sales price reductions appear to be preeminent.Leveraged management buy-out;performance;investment policy; operation.