Private equity in the 2020s
| History of private equity and venture capital |
|---|
| Early history |
| (origins of modern private equity) |
| The 1980s |
| (leveraged buyout boom) |
| The 1990s |
| (leveraged buyout to PE and dot-com bubble) |
| The 2000s |
| (dot-com bubble to the credit crunch) |
| The 2010s |
| (expansion) |
| The 2020s |
| (COVID-19 recession) |
In the 2020s private equity (PE) firms responded to the COVID-19 recession with a surge in funding.[1]
PE firm Silver Lake invested in the April 2022 $44 billion acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk.[2]
The World Economic Forum suggested private equity would fund the post-recession revival of the economy, with patient capital.[3] However, by 2021, statistics show that private equity had increased its management of U.S. corporate equity from about four percent, in 2000, to about 20 percent, showing growth at almost five times the U.S. economy. The trend is also noted in the sharp decline of public companies, over the past three decades, as thousands transitioned to private with increased investor equity. Law professors, including Elisabeth de Fontenay of Duke University, and John Coates of Harvard Law, caution that the trend greatly diminishes corporate transparency and accountability.[4]
Proposed legislation
[edit]The States of California, Colorado and Illinois each proposed legislation to limit private equity investor influence on law firms in 2026.[5] Colorado passed HB26-1421 on May 12,[6] and Illinois voted for an amended version of its House Bill 5487.[7] California Assembly Bill 2305 passed its House on April 6.[5]
Healthcare sector
[edit]By 2024, PE investments into Healthcare facilities boomed, with $100 billion invested in thousands of acquisitions annually.[8]
References
[edit]- ↑ "McKinsey's Private Markets Annual Review | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (9 March 2020). "Silver Lake makes $1B investment into Twitter; Twitter, Elliott call truce as Dorsey remains CEO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ↑ "3 reasons why private equity will enable post-pandemic economy". World Economic Forum. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ↑ Karma, Rogé (30 October 2023). "The Secretive Industry Devouring the U.S. Economy". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- 1 2 Cumming, Chris (1 May 2026). "States Consider Bans on Private Equity Law-Firm Acquisitions". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
- ↑ Siegel, Emily R. (14 May 2026). "Colorado Passes Bill Banning Fee Sharing with Non-Lawyers". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
- ↑ Cumming, Chris (1 June 2026). "Illinois Lawmakers Pass Bill to Bar Private Equity Control of Law Firms". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
- ↑ "5 Consequences of Private Equity's Expansion in Health Care Services". Center for American Progress. 30 October 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
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