Explore the issues
Find more information on the issues deeply affected by private equity investments:
Even During the Pandemic, Some Private Equity Firms Are Still Collecting Debt-Funded Dividends from Health Care Companies
After briefly halting the practice earlier this year, private equity firms’ use of dividend recapitalizations has seen a significant resurgence in recent weeks. Dividend recapitalizations are transactions where private equity firms add debt to the companies they own to pay…
Dividend Recapitalizations in Health Care: How Private Equity Raids Critical Health Care Infrastructure for Short Term Profit
Dividend recapitalizations are transactions by which private equity firms load debt onto companies they own to give themselves cash payouts. The tactic has been widely criticized by both supporters and skeptics of the private equity model for needlessly saddling companies…
Workers, Community Leaders Speak Out about Leonard Green & Partners’ Prospect Medical Holdings
Workers and community members in Waterbury, Connecticut are speaking out about ongoing problems at Prospect Medical Holdings’ Waterbury Hospital. Prospect is a safety net hospital chain owned by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners. Leonard Green and other owners…
With High Debt, Dozens of Private Equity-Backed Oil & Gas Companies File for Bankruptcy
Oil company bankruptcies are on the rise, on track in the first nine months of 2020 to hit the highest number since the 2016 price downturn. However, compared to 2016, this year’s bankrupt companies are carrying substantially more debt.
ProPublica investigation of Leonard Green-owned Prospect Medical finds “broken elevators, dirty surgical gear, bedbugs and more”
ProPublica recently published a lengthy investigation into Leonard Green & Partners’ ownership of safety net hospital chain Prospect Medical Holdings: “Investors Extracted $400 Million From a Hospital Chain That Sometimes Couldn’t Pay for Medical Supplies or Gas for Ambulances.”…
Blackstone Drills Deeper as Investors Shift Away from Fossil Fuels
The largest alternative asset manager’s extensive fossil fuels investments face litigation, community opposition and environmental violations The risks of fossil fuel investments came into sharp focus for the world’s largest alternative asset manager, The Blackstone Group, over the past several…
Understaffed, Unlicensed, and Untrained: Behavioral Health Under Private Equity
The behavioral health industry has seen immense growth over the last decade, with a substantial portion of that growth driven by private equity investment. Firms have targeted mental health and addiction services, including outpatient and inpatient therapy, intellectual and developmental…
Eviction Filings by Private Equity Firms and Other Large Landlords Surge Despite CDC Eviction Moratorium
On September 1, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a moratorium on residential evictions through the end of the year to help limit the spread of COVID-19, noting: “In the context of a…
PPP Loans Flow to Energy Companies Backed by Deep-Pocketed Private Equity
Congress designed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help small businesses remain afloat and ensure they continued to pay their employees, rent, mortgage interest and utilities, during the coronavirus pandemic. The program came under fire early on when some…
Single Family Rental Giant Invitation Homes Restarts Eviction Filings
One of the largest single-family rental landlords in the United States, Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH), has restarted efforts to evict residents of its homes across the country, filing more than seventy eviction cases since July and more than two dozen…
