I fundamentally agree that companies don't need to grow. They do however need to have returns. Companies need returns to justify their continued existence to o

I fundamentally agree that companies don't need to grow. They do however need to have returns. Companies need returns to justify their continued existence to owners. Growth comes into the picture because if someone thinks growth is possible, they are willing to pay more for it then an owner thinks it's worth. This is an extremely common PE situation, where a management firm and Banks think more profit could be generated then the current owner. Then they offer more money than the owner thinks it's worth and try their luck. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't. The other common case is when PE act a buyer of last resort. If someone doesn't want to run a business anymore, they look for a buyer.