I've invested in private equity funds across the entire spectrum. I mainly focused on the small to medium end of the market... The bankruptcies of the large LB

I've invested in private equity funds across the entire spectrum. I mainly focused on the small to medium end of the market... The bankruptcies of the large LBO deals skew the public's perception of the industry. Sure it has faults but the reality is much more nuanced than some of the views outlined above. Yes there are large private equity firms that will acquire companies and overload them with debt, cut costs and sell prize assets. Yes there are many other firms who operate very differently. In the smaller end of the market, debt loads are much more conservative and returns are generated through moving into new geographies (i.e. opening a new store in MA), moving into adjacent markets (i.e. we sell tables. Let's move into the chair market), let's hire more sales people, acquire complimentary products to cross-sell etc. The list goes on. There are many positive qualities to private equity but the industry is tarred because of the large amounts of money. People on the whole don't like large amounts of wealth. So why does a company sell to an LBO? Could be any number of reasons. The founder might want to retire. Maybe the kids inherited the business and no longer want to run it. Maybe the business is in dire straits and the current owner lacks the skill or the patience to turn it around. Maybe a company wants to sell a non-core division. Maybe a parent company is financial trouble and will sell assets. Maybe the price is right.