Comments on: Private equity funds and the pillage of Australia http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/11/23/private-equity-funds-and-the-pillage-of-australia/ now with extra source Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:48:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: jeebus http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/11/23/private-equity-funds-and-the-pillage-of-australia/#comment-47833 jeebus Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:58:18 +0000 http://www.crikey.com.au/?p=100156#comment-47833 Great article, John. Private equity raiders are symptomatic of a global economic mentality that encourages and rewards short term profit seeking. It takes a lot of investment, effort, and time to build a large, productive and profitable enterprise filled with skilled and experienced people. It's much easier to cobble together a war chest of debt, stage a take-over by paying off the board and executives, saddle the enterprise with debt burdens, split the booty, and depart for the open seas laden with pilfered treasures (setting sail for a tropical island outside the reach of tax authorities, presumably). Piracy is alive and well in the 21st century, and Somalis are the least of the problem. Great article, John. Private equity raiders are symptomatic of a global economic mentality that encourages and rewards short term profit seeking.

It takes a lot of investment, effort, and time to build a large, productive and profitable enterprise filled with skilled and experienced people.

It’s much easier to cobble together a war chest of debt, stage a take-over by paying off the board and executives, saddle the enterprise with debt burdens, split the booty, and depart for the open seas laden with pilfered treasures (setting sail for a tropical island outside the reach of tax authorities, presumably).

Piracy is alive and well in the 21st century, and Somalis are the least of the problem.

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