38
Companies Killed by Private Equity
Bankrupted, liquidated, or gutted after leveraged buyouts
Joann Fabrics
Leonard Green & Partners
20250 (liquidated)
Prospect Medical Holdings
Leonard Green & Partners
2024Multiple closed, rest in crisis
Steward Health Care
Cerberus Capital
2024Bankrupt, hospitals closing
G/O Media (Deadspin)
Great Hill Partners
20240 (all sold/shut)
Envision Healthcare
KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts)
2023Bankrupt, restructured
Friendly's
Sun Capital Partners
2020~130 restaurants
Remington Arms
Cerberus Capital
2020Broken up and sold in pieces
24 Hour Fitness
2020300 clubs
Nationally, PE-backed firms accounted for 56% of the largest U.S. bankruptcies ($500M+) in 2024, resulting in at least 65,850 layoffs.
Source: Private Equity Stakeholder Project, 2024 →Joann Fabrics liquidated all 800+ stores after two bankruptcies under Leonard Green
Leonard Green's 2011 LBO loaded Joann with $1.6B in debt. Filed Chapter 11 in March 2024, emerged briefly, then filed again in January 2025. All 800+ stores liquidated. ~19,000 employees lost their jobs. Leonard Green had already extracted significant returns through dividends and fees before the collapse.
PE-owned hospice providers face scrutiny for billing fraud and premature enrollments
Federal investigations found PE-owned hospice providers enrolling patients who aren't terminally ill to collect Medicare payments, while understaffing care for those who genuinely need it.
Leonard Green extracted $400M+ from Prospect Medical while hospitals closed
Leonard Green extracted over $400M through dividend recaps and management fees from Prospect Medical Holdings while hospital quality deteriorated. Multiple facilities have closed or face crisis 2023-2025. Subject of congressional investigation. Thousands of jobs and patient care affected.
Public Interest Database
Is Your Favorite Brand
Owned by Private Equity?
Search 221 PE-owned brands across 37 industries. Built on SEC filings, official portfolio disclosures, and verified reporting.
25.4%
Increase in hospital-acquired adverse events under PE ownership
A Harvard Medical School study published in JAMA found that private equity acquisition of hospitals was associated with a 25.4% increase in hospital-acquired adverse events and increased in-hospital mortality among Medicare beneficiaries.
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 2023 →Including 202 restaurants & fast food, 136 retail & consumer, 78 dental, 71 veterinary, and more locations
The Cost of PE Ownership
Documented consequences of private equity acquisitions
Browse by Industry
Select a category to see PE-owned businesses in that sector
Accounting & Tax Services
8 brands tracked
Apparel & Fashion
7 brands tracked
Auto Services
8 brands tracked
Behavioral Health
4 brands tracked
Car Washes
6 brands tracked
Childcare & Early Education
8 brands tracked
Dental
10 brands tracked
Department Stores
2 brands tracked
Dermatology & Aesthetics
5 brands tracked
Electronics & Tech Retail
1 brands tracked
Energy & Utilities
1 brands tracked
Fire & Security
3 brands tracked
Fitness & Gyms
8 brands tracked
Funeral & Death Care
4 brands tracked
Furniture & Home
1 brands tracked
Gaming & Casinos
1 brands tracked
Gastroenterology & Specialty Physicians
7 brands tracked
Grocery & Specialty Food
5 brands tracked
Hospice & Home Health
7 brands tracked
Hospitals & Healthcare Systems
3 brands tracked
HVAC & Home Services
11 brands tracked
Manufacturing & Industrial
1 brands tracked
Media & Digital Publishing
1 brands tracked
Music & Entertainment
1 brands tracked
Pest Control
5 brands tracked
Physical Therapy
4 brands tracked
Restaurants & Fast Food
32 brands tracked
Retail & Consumer
19 brands tracked
RV Parks & Manufactured Housing
6 brands tracked
Salon, Spa & Beauty
5 brands tracked
Senior Living & Nursing Homes
5 brands tracked
Sporting Goods
1 brands tracked
Toys & Children
0 brands tracked
Urgent Care & Clinics
7 brands tracked
Veterinary
10 brands tracked
Vision & Eye Care
5 brands tracked
Youth Sports & Recreation
9 brands tracked
The Full Picture
Not every PE acquisition ends badly. These cases show where PE ownership stabilized or grew a company. We apply the same documentation standard as our harm cases.
Hilton Hotels
2007Blackstone
Blackstone acquired Hilton for $26B in 2007 — the largest PE hotel deal ever — right before the financial crisis. Despite near-disaster timing, Blackstone invested in renovations, expanded the brand portfolio, and grew the company from 2,800 to 4,700 hotels.
Hilton went public in 2013 at $20B, and Blackstone eventually earned $14B in profit — one of the most successful PE deals in history. Hilton today operates 7,000+ properties across 22 brands.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Blackstone Annual Reports
Dollar General
2007KKR
KKR took Dollar General private for $7.3B in 2007 and invested heavily in supply chain modernization, store expansion, and inventory management. The company doubled its store count during KKR ownership.
Dollar General went public in 2009 and is now worth $30B+, with 20,000+ stores and 180,000 employees. Revenue grew from $9B to $12B during KKR ownership.
Source: Harvard Business School Case Study, KKR Annual Reports
HCA Healthcare
2006Bain Capital / KKR
Bain Capital and KKR took HCA private in a $33B leveraged buyout in 2006. Despite concerns about healthcare quality under PE, HCA invested in technology, expanded capacity, and maintained quality metrics.
HCA went public again in 2011 and is now the largest for-profit hospital operator in the US with 180+ hospitals, 2,000+ care sites, and 300,000 employees. Revenue grew from $25B to $65B+.
Source: SEC Filings, Modern Healthcare, Fortune
What the Research Shows
Peer-reviewed studies and investigative reporting on PE impact
PE-Owned Nursing Homes Show Lower Care Quality
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), 2021
Researchers found that PE ownership of nursing homes led to a 10% increase in short-term mortality among Medicare patients, driven by reductions in frontline nursing staff and compliance with care standards.
Dental Chains and Patient Outcomes
American Dental Association, FTC Reports
The FTC has examined how PE-backed dental service organizations (DSOs) now control over 10% of all U.S. dental practices, with documented cases of pressure on clinicians to recommend unnecessary procedures.
Veterinary Costs Rising Under PE Ownership
The New York Times, Bloomberg, 2023-2024
PE consolidation in veterinary care has driven up costs for pet owners by 30-60%, with firms like JAB Holding and Mars controlling thousands of clinics and emergency hospitals nationwide.
Retail Devastation: The LBO Impact
Americans for Financial Reform, 2019-2024
An estimated 1.3 million retail jobs were lost to PE-driven bankruptcies. From Toys R Us ($6.6B LBO, $464M in fees) to Neiman Marcus ($6.2B LBO), leveraged buyouts systematically extracted value from iconic retailers.
PE Expansion Into New Sectors
Private equity firms are increasingly acquiring businesses outside traditional sectors
Youth Sports Organizations
PE firms have begun acquiring youth sports leagues, travel ball organizations, and tournament operators. Critics warn this introduces profit-driven incentive structures into children's athletics.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, ESPN (2024)
RV Parks & Campgrounds
Sun Communities, Equity LifeStyle Properties, and other PE-backed REITs have acquired hundreds of RV parks. Residents report rent increases of 40-80% within two years of acquisition.
Sources: Bloomberg, MHAction Reports (2023-2024)
Home Services & Trades
Plumbing, HVAC, pest control, and landscaping companies are being rapidly consolidated via 'platform and add-on' strategies to build pricing power in local markets.
Sources: PitchBook Data, FTC Testimony (2023)
About Our Data
Sources
Our database is compiled from SEC filings, state business registrations, press releases, PitchBook and Crunchbase transaction data, FTC reports, and investigative journalism. We cross-reference multiple sources before adding a business to the database.
Updates & Corrections
This database is updated regularly as new acquisitions are reported. If you have a correction or would like to submit a business for review, submit it here. We verify all submissions before publishing.