re: Let’s Talk about “Private Equity”

LOL that you think Jim Flores is LSU’s biggest booster

UGA fans will never get over losing to Ed Orgeron by 20+ points in consecutive seasons

This is all just inane

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brainless roll up strategies

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What’s dastardly to the company or unsustainable about rolling up fractured markets? This was literally the corporate conglomerate playbook from the 60-70’s. It’s the current playbook for basically every publicly-traded consumer products business (Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills, etc.), network owner (e.g. logistics operators, infra asset owners), and market maker (e.g. regional banks, consumer service providers, etc.)

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PE has always been the art of immediate wealth transfer from entrepreneurs to financial operators

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You realize that entrepreneurs are (1) *private* *equity* themselves, (2) Mmgt teams often do a partial cash-out at sale to a PE firm, (3) roll the remainder of their ownership into the continuing entity, participating ratably with any PE owner, and (4) remain involved in the decision-making, strategy formation, and operational execution of the business, ESPECIALLY if it’s a business platform from which to execute a roll-up strategy

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dumping the investment either on public markets or other institutional investors with no concern or care about long term value creation

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This is falsifiable by its nature: the “bag-holders” you cite, public markets and institutional investors, are themselves definitional long-term owners; they wouldn’t buy (read: “accept”) the company being sold or listed by the PE firm if there was not a solid set-up for long-term value stability (and value-creation)

So the owner of the fast food chain where you work has committed himself to being the sugar daddy for LSU?

There’s having fun with $30k for Jell-O shots, there’s being stupid bankrolling the Brian Kelly buyout, and then there’s just lifetime regret signing up to enable the crack addict that is the LSU athletics program under Gov. Landry.

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Bain Capital buys Gong cha bubble tea chain - 17 hours ago

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In your impulsive rush to respond, you missed the entire focus of this disagreement:

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No Colors:
[PE is] just as fricked up as it's ever been. Probably more so.

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Corporate activist investors that would strip companies of assets and employees to pay down large borrowings of debt have been gone for 35 years

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Restaurants are the easiest example, because they in fact have the most to strip. Other organizations have to shed expenses, mostly.

Extracting the most capital is the goal. Hence why PE forced Red Lobster to sell their land to a shell and then charged them rent for the properties. There's someone holding the bag there. Always.

Now you’re telling billionaires what’s best?

LMAO!

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Absolutely, 100% untrue.

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K. Name me one.

Be sure to get it right this time:
• “Corporate activist”. Here are some to choose from: Carl Icahn, or Paul Singer (Elliott), or Bill Ackman (Pershing Square)
• Strip assets and employees from the company to pay down large borrowings of debt: Tell me guy, what leverage can you get on a bear-hug takeover, or a take-private LBO? Show me the deals with break-up values in excess of enterprise value and overfunded pensions to raid.

Heck, just show me a transaction financing where you’re getting excess market leverage for less than the cost of equity.

Cost cutting, asset rationalization, de-levering, headcount rationalization via technology enablement are all fine tools in any company’s playbook. PE deals that utilize these tools to their detrimental excess and give the investment industry a bad reputation don’t exist anymore.

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ok boss, identify me one recent deal that illustrates this

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Private equity investment in the US is estimated at $1.2 trillion in 2026. That's up from $850 billion in 2024.

Private equity is doing just fine.

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I am gonna ignore everything else in your rambling post and focus on this.

Because this is simply not correct. Private equity is alive, well, thriving, growing, and just as fricked up as it's ever been. Probably more so.

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Somewhat agree …. I’ve worked with PE throughout multiple corporate transitions in my career … granted, they were not sports entertainment businesses, but they all share a common thread.

PE are meddlers …. particularly in shyte they do not understand. They just cannot help themselves It never occurs to them that most business ideas have been tried many times before