The legal doctrine at issue here is called corporate veil piercing. It means that investors aren't held responsible for the actions of the companies they invest in. A private equity firm, by being the majority or sole equity investor in a company, really can control the company's operations. And so I think this is a really interesting area where the law hasn't really caught up with business practice.
If you want to maximize the value of your home for decades, you might update the kitchen. But if your time frame is one week, then you might burn down the house. Brendan Ballou is a federal prosecutor and special counsel at the Department of Justice, where he led the antitrust division’s work on private equity. He's also authored a new book, “Plunder, Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America.” Ricky Mulvey caught up with him to talk about: - The techniques many private equity companies use to generate short-term returns - A key misunderstanding about the fall of in-person retailers - Private equity’s impact on medical billing, bakeries, and insurance Companies discussed: CG, KKR, BX Host: Ricky Mulvey Guest: Brendan Ballou Engineer: Tim Sparks
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