Hot on the press: Why private-equity investors are so keen to buy media businesses
Private equity's biggest advantage today is its access to vast quantities of debt, on what old-time bankers might regard as recklessly generous terms. They can borrow at far higher multiples to earnings than the public stockmarket is willing to sustain. That makes it hard for public companies to compete against private-equity buyers.
It's a nice position for private equity, but also dangerous.
