Explore the issues
Find more information on the issues deeply affected by private equity investments:
Private Equity’s Highly-Leveraged Bet on Retail Puts a Million Jobs at Risk During the COVID-19 Crisis
Over the last decade at least 600,000 people working at private equity-owned retailers have lost their jobs due to bankruptcies and store closures. Just since last summer, private equity-owned retailers such as Fairway, Art Van Furniture, and…
Wall Street Journal focuses on Cerberus Capital, Leonard Green-owned hospitals’ actions during COVID-19 pandemic
In late April, the Wall Street Journal published a story looking at the actions of private equity-owned hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic (“As Coronavirus Cases Climbed, Private-Equity-Owned Hospital Demanded Bailout”). Private equity money has flooded into the health…
Private Equity’s Exposure to Fossil Fuels
As the oil industry shudders through cratering demand and rock-bottom prices, analysts are expecting a wave of bankruptcies,[1] a particular vulnerability for companies carrying a heavy debt load. Private equity firms poured $65 billion into oil investments in…
Leonard Green and TPG-led Owner Group Collected $765 Million in Fees and Dividends From Bankrupt Retailer J. Crew
Clothing retailer J. Crew, which is owned by private equity firms TPG and Leonard Green & Partners, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today.[i] It is the first major retailer to file for bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. While…
Private equity landlords advance evictions during COVID-19 pandemic
Over the last decade, private equity and similar investment firms have bought up growing portions of the US housing market, acquiring apartments, single family homes, and manufactured home communities. Wall Street landlords now own the homes of millions…
Private Equity-Backed Nursing Homes Fail COVID-19 Test
Private equity ownership of nursing homes has drawn substantial scrutiny in recent years, from HCR ManorCare’s increasing health code violations leading up to its bankruptcy to Golden Living’s lawsuits and regulatory violations. An academic study published in…
Leonard Green & Partners reaps repeated payouts from health care companies
Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners claims health care as one of its core areas of investment, though its past actions at health care portfolio companies suggests a pattern of aggressive financial policies, saddling portfolio companies with debt…
Private equity-owned health care providers could exacerbate COVID-19 outbreaks concerns at jails, prisons, and detention centers
Two of the largest health care providers to jails, prisons, and detention centers in the US, Wellpath and Corizon, are owned by private equity firms, HIG Capital and BlueMountain Capital, respectively. Resources: July 2019: “HIG Capital’s and Wellpath’s Correctional…
AFT, Worth Rises, Color of Change, PESP call on private equity firms to halt prison and detention companies’ predatory practices during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented risk for people who are incarcerated or detained. Prisons and jails are breeding grounds for infection as people are crowded into tight quarters and forced to share cells and showers, making social distancing impossible…
Private Equity’s Responsibilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(pdf version) Over the last several years, the private equity and private funds industry has grown dramatically and, in the process, has come to touch more and more aspects of people’s lives. Private market assets under management hit an…
In taking $570 million in fees and dividends from Prospect Medical Holdings, Leonard Green leaves health system less equipped to respond to COVID-19 pandemic
Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners owns safety net hospital chain Prospect Medical Holdings, which has 17 hospitals in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Over the course of its ownership of Prospect, Leonard Green and other…