The curse of private equity
Posted: November 9th, 2023, 2:16 pm
My first ever visit here, but I couldn't decide where to post so on looking down the list it seemed the most appropriate.
I've often been concerned about the way that private equity seems to operate in the UK, which all too often seems to consist of buying a good and reputable company, loading it with debt and trading on its reputation while slashing costs and the quality of the product.
It seems that the situation is possibly even more serious in the US - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archi ... es/675788/
Incidentally, I was surprised to read that private US companies appear to be subject to no disclosure obligations. If that's the case it's a fairly surprising contrast with the UK where all companies' records (or at least the basic ones) are readily available via Companies House. Does anyone with more knowledge of US companies than me know whether this is, in fact, the case, as it seems inherently unlikely?
I've often been concerned about the way that private equity seems to operate in the UK, which all too often seems to consist of buying a good and reputable company, loading it with debt and trading on its reputation while slashing costs and the quality of the product.
It seems that the situation is possibly even more serious in the US - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archi ... es/675788/
Incidentally, I was surprised to read that private US companies appear to be subject to no disclosure obligations. If that's the case it's a fairly surprising contrast with the UK where all companies' records (or at least the basic ones) are readily available via Companies House. Does anyone with more knowledge of US companies than me know whether this is, in fact, the case, as it seems inherently unlikely?