
Ask HN: Private Equity Success Stories? - moleintheground
Are there any great examples of private equity acquisition of and exit from a software company that ended up with the company being better or the product being better?
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troydavis
I briefly saw a midsize public company ($3-$5 billion valuation) while it was
public and then after it had been taken private by 2 PE firms. Under PE
ownership, the horizon for product decisions and other investments was 1-3
years, vs. 1-6 months while public. Being public meant managing to earnings
expectations, which sucked. While not perfect, I think PE ownership was better
for the company and the products.

I might have a different opinion if the alternative was, say, the company
being owned by the same family for 50 years.

All of this depends entirely on the PE firms. The ones involved here were
savvy about software and growth (think Silver Lake).

