PE News:

The private equity barons breathed a collective sigh of relief June 24 when the Senate and House could not agree on a compromise Tax Extenders Bill. Tax Extenders included a provision that would have raised taxes on the money private equity barons make from buying and selling companies, known as “carried interest”.

While PE Barons escaped so far, a partner at one of the largest private equity firms told me he expected that Congress would still raise taxes on them in the coming weeks because they need to raise money and reached consensus on handling “carried interest”.

P.S. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi seems to be a private equity booster, and has never supported raising taxes on them despite the House voting to end carried interest three times.

Buyout of America was released November 12, 2009, and has hit the Amazon Top 100. Portfolio in October will publish an updated paperback.

Ralph Nader, too, has put it on his Holiday Reading List!

This site is intended to pick up where the Buyout of America book leaves off.

We would like it to be a forum where we tell you what is presently going on with private equity companies, the private equity debate, and list what companies private equity firms bought in leveraged buyouts (LBOs).

You are also encouraged to participate. We ask you to send in reflections on your experiences with private equity owned companies, which will be shared with readers, and thoughts on the subject.

Warren Foss, the former head of high-yield at Salomon Brothers, shared his thoughts (FossEssay710) about how the Government needs to hire outside advisors to restructure itself like a business that cannot pay its loans. He also believes “much of the leveraging of corporations by LBO shops has been disastrous for the country.”

Let’s keep the conversation going.

Appearances

Appeared July 16, 2010, PBS NewsHour

Appeared January 20, 2010, CBC News Lang & O’Leary Exchange

Appeared December 8, 2009, Forbes.com and second video

Appeared November 26, 2009, Op-ed in Boston Globe

Appeared November 24,2009, Time.com

Appeared November 17, 2009, CNBC-TV Squawk on the Street

Appeared November 16, 2009, NPR Radio: Fresh Air with Terry Gross

Appeared November 9, 2009, Times of London

Appeared October 29, 2009, WSJ.com