Private equity firms invest in businesses with the aim of making profits, typically within four or seven years. The firms identify opportunities for investment, conduct extensive research on the company and the industry, and then determine whether the company’s performance can be improved. They also seek to understand the management team of the company as well as its competitive environment.
They usually purchase the majority or all of the control stake in a company and work with management to review budgets and operations daily in order to lower costs or improve performance. They may also assist a company pursue innovative this link business strategies that would be too radical for sceptical public investors.
Managers of private equity firms also benefit from significant tax advantages from the government because of the “carried-interest” loophole. This incentive has allowed them to collect large fees, regardless of whether their portfolio companies are profitable as long as they can sell the business at an impressive profit after having held it for three to seven years.
One method they can generate high returns is by buying similar businesses and operating them under one umbrella to take advantage of economies of scale. However, this approach can also create stress for workers as ProPublica discovered when it looked at the impact of a hospital chain acquired by private equity firms on its employees. Nurses could sometimes be unable to access basic supplies, like IV fluids or sponges, while apartment residents struggled to pay rent.