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Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

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Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#271

Post by Spooky23 »

notacoward wrote: post #199
TrackerFF wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they are called "Insecure overachievers". They are the bread and butter of investment banks, management consulting firms, big law firms, etc. They are also the reason that partnerships still thrive. A couple of years ago I was talking with this (big law) partner at a dinner, and we came in on the topic around partnership - and he just said it straight: The competition / rat race towards partnership is 100% skewe…

That sounds like the "elite overproduction" which is commonly held to be one of the two factors increasing likelihood of a revolution (the other being popular immiseration). https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/us-societa... As much as I like the idea of PE scum putting their own necks into the guillotines, though, I'm skeptical of whether this theory really works.

I think that’s a symptom not the disease. Society tends to have a lag between needs changing and the adjustment happening.

Pre-revolutionary France didn’t have too many petit nobles because they were dumb — those folks were a legacy of a bygone era. Today technology is rendering while swaths of products, business and industry irrelevant.

Populist movements at their core are driven by fear. What are they afraid of? They know that what do they and where they live is redundant. We won’t see change until there’s a calamity.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#272

Post by LapsangGuzzler »

hospitalJail wrote: post #4
awaythrow483 wrote: post #3

If you want to understand what went wrong with America, start with private equity

Lobbying/Bribery seems more egregious than investing. At least investing has some economic forces that cause people to conserve resources and allocate them better than prior. Lobbying/Bribery is just pure corruption. The medical industry is so extravagant because they are among the top lobbyists of all time. Only the entirety of real estate or all US businesses(chamber of commerce) can even compete with merely the Am…

> At least investing has some economic forces that cause people to conserve resources and allocate them better than prior.

That's a really whitewashed way of saying "layoffs, benefit reductions, and no more pay raises or bonuses". Far too often, "economic inefficiency" translates to "workers are too highly paid", you see this all time now with companies complaining about a labor shortage while there are tons of people ready to work for respectable wages.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#273

Post by LapsangGuzzler »

refurb wrote: post #242
KerrAvon wrote: post #163

Instant Pot just got knifed by PE. https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/12/23758602/instant-pot-bank... > The other reason it’s absolutely got to keep growing is that there are expectations placed upon it by Cornell Capital, the private equity firm that acquired the Instant from its founder in 2019 and merged it with Corelle Brands, which makes all the Pyrex and CorningWare products you probably heat up leftovers in. … >…

Instapot was going into a crapper PE or no PE.

That's a pretty low-effort take. I'm a very serious cook and I absolutely loathe kitchen gadget culture but the Instant Pot has to be the most innovative kitchen tool created in my lifetime. It's a mobile oven, pressure cooker, saute pan, and mess-free food transport system all in one and it's affordable. The amount of food it can produce relative to the active cook time needed is unparalleled. It's the gateway drug to cooking for people who grew up not knowing how to cook.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#274

Post by manfre »

singleshot_ wrote: post #184
epups wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wouldn't your friend just open up a practice and compete with this dysfunctional company?

Maybe because now that the retail vet is destroyed and rich people need vets who are not pathologically inconvenient and terrible, there is a brisk market for retained private vets. This is a trend I’ve noticed that goes along with “enshittification” wherein the normal thing (let’s take grocery stores as an example) become either so downmarket-oriented (e.g., Dollar General) or aggravating (e.g., self-checkout lanes,…

> aggravating (e.g., self-checkout lanes...

self-checkout lanes are not viewed as a bad thing by many. Given the option of a self checkout or staffed checked, I'd choose self checkout. The negative aspect of self-checkout is that it's usually paired with the store being understaffed, instead of redirecting the freed up staff to other roles.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#275

Post by 20after4 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #247
jfidbfidvdid wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

too complex. world is simple. boom-bust cycles enable capital to buy everything in the bust period. every thing. legal entities keep shifting to join news tax avoidance tricks. it's not a static game.

> boom-bust cycles enable capital to buy everything in the bust period. Out of curiosity, what happens to the busted capital in this toy model?

Often it gets bought and consolidated into a bigger entity. In the 80s and 90s it would be shipped to Mexico, Costa Rica or (in later years) China where it was put to use operated by a much cheaper workforce.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#276

Post by mucle6 »

paxys wrote: post #119
mucle6 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This assumes that the current company has no valuation, or the current employees can fund a purchase. And it assume that the employees are more apt to run the company than PE

Yeah employees would probably never be able to match the money offered by PE, but is assuming the second part too much of a stretch?

You're probably right employee owned businesses are better for customers, but I'm worried there may be an unfortunate truth that PE is better for investors

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#277

Post by rr808 »

TrackerFF wrote: post #183
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #136

I have a pet theory: there are managerially-minded university graduates who value prestige more than power or pay. In the post-War era, they became beige-suited company men. In my generation, they went corporate finance. Today, they work for private equity. Banking was great. Everyone–from liberal arts to engineering majors–could putz around for years in a pre-defined and prestigious path with moderately above-market…

Yes, they are called "Insecure overachievers". They are the bread and butter of investment banks, management consulting firms, big law firms, etc. They are also the reason that partnerships still thrive. A couple of years ago I was talking with this (big law) partner at a dinner, and we came in on the topic around partnership - and he just said it straight: The competition / rat race towards partnership is 100% skewe…

> many would have made the same amount of money if they struck out on their own, opening a small boutique firm

Surely this it the same in tech. Most employees of FAANG companies could do something in a small company but the big company is just more prestigious and less risky. Every small business is like this now, doctors offices, restaurants, stores are all chains.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#278

Post by metadat »

rr808 wrote: post #277
TrackerFF wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they are called "Insecure overachievers". They are the bread and butter of investment banks, management consulting firms, big law firms, etc. They are also the reason that partnerships still thrive. A couple of years ago I was talking with this (big law) partner at a dinner, and we came in on the topic around partnership - and he just said it straight: The competition / rat race towards partnership is 100% skewe…

> many would have made the same amount of money if they struck out on their own, opening a small boutique firm Surely this it the same in tech. Most employees of FAANG companies could do something in a small company but the big company is just more prestigious and less risky. Every small business is like this now, doctors offices, restaurants, stores are all chains.

Big companies also pay in RSUs which immediately convert to real money.

Most of the time, startup equity is funny money. Especially for the rank and file.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#279

Post by throwaway290 »

onos wrote: post #251
JohnFen wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Prestige is a powerful motivator. I know this to be true because I've seen so many people given BS titles instead of raises and be happy about it as if they got something of real value. But I don't understand it at all. Apparently, I lack the "prestige" gene.

I see this sort of prestige marker as useful for future job searches.

Absolutely. It's part of credentials, like a diploma. Not that it's truly needed but it expands options and can help get much better pay. Even if it does not guarantee that and some people can achieve even better financial success without it, still.

Re: Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

#280

Post by mertd »

rr808 wrote: post #277
TrackerFF wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they are called "Insecure overachievers". They are the bread and butter of investment banks, management consulting firms, big law firms, etc. They are also the reason that partnerships still thrive. A couple of years ago I was talking with this (big law) partner at a dinner, and we came in on the topic around partnership - and he just said it straight: The competition / rat race towards partnership is 100% skewe…

> many would have made the same amount of money if they struck out on their own, opening a small boutique firm Surely this it the same in tech. Most employees of FAANG companies could do something in a small company but the big company is just more prestigious and less risky. Every small business is like this now, doctors offices, restaurants, stores are all chains.

Tech is winner takes all. It's very hard to make FAANG salary level income with a couple of clients.
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