Private equity firms are acquiring and taking private a wide variety of companies almost daily in the business world.  For example, on 1-16-14, one of the world’s largest private-equity firms, Apollo Global Management LLC acquired Chuck E. Cheese’s, the party pizza and arcade games 577 stores in 47 states and 10 foreign countries or territories.  Apollo paid about $950 million for the parent company, CEC Entertainment, or a 12 percent premium over the company’s stock price.  Chuck E. Cheese’s profit and revenue has been on the decline of late with sales dropping 2.1 percent in the Q3 of 2013 with the number of birthday parties hosted there falling 11 percent.  On the same day in January, another large private-equity firm, Carlyle Group LP, agreed to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s blood-testing business for $4.15 billion.  Private-equity firms are an integral part of the business world, especially in the USA, but also in Europe and Asia, and more recently in Latin America.

Gasparro, Annie and Liz Hoffman (2014), “Apollo Snaps Up Chuck E. Cheese’s,” Wall Street Journal, (1-17-14, P. B3)