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Article: So what is private equity, and is it helpful or damaging to the economy? ; The big question
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- February 27, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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What is private equity?
Listening to candidates for the deputy leadership of the Labour
Party, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the new devil
incarnate. A pestilence sweeping the land and laying waste to once-
great British companies. An excuse to asset strip and export jobs
abroad on an industrial scale. A game of "casino capitalism" in
which the stakes are the livelihoods and pensions of ordinary
workers.
In fact, private equity is just the name given to a different
form of company ownership. Some businesses are publicly-owned by
outside investors who buy and sell their shares on the stock market.
Some are privately-owned by groups of individuals or families.
Think, for ...