Thread

1. NegativeK · 1789944184 · focus · HN ↗

   Can someone steelman private equity, please? I'm honestly looking for the upsides (for non-investors) of when PE moves into an industry like medicine and begins buying up businesses that traditionally aren't already large chains.

   I already hear the downsides frequently from someone whose work is directly affected.

   1. dghlsakjg · 1789952787 · focus · HN ↗

      Private equity just means controlling a company outside of the public stock markets, it is incredibly broad, and covers everything from blackrock buying every vets office in an area, to a plumber buying out another plumber when they want to retire.

      The steelman argument is that private equity is just property rights. If I build a business I get to decide what to do with it.

      What most people are arguing against is a specific kind of PE where an institutional investor will either use aggressive financial engineering to force a profit, even if it kills the business, or when those same investors aggregate market share to the point where it is detrimental to consumers. Sprinkle in a little bit of heartless MBA bullshit, and that is what people specifically don’t like.

      1. caminante · 1789954556 · focus · HN ↗

         It is a broad term. VC is a subset of PE.

         In medicine, it's a solution for someone who wants liquidity (buy kids new home, help local dog shelter, add a new mistress) and doesn't want to retire, yet.

         The problem is that the terms are custom and YMMV as an existing patient of said practice.

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