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Leveraged Buyouts

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Leveraged Buyouts A leveraged buyout or LBO is a restructuring strategy whereby a party, typically a private equity firm, buys all of a firm’s assets in order to take the firm private. ( Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, p. 207) A leveraged buyout also prevents the company’s stock from being publicly traded. In 2006, HCA quickly agreed to a $21 billion leveraged buyout from several private equity firms, including Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Merrill Lynch. The deal also included the assumption of $11.7 billion in debt. All stockholders received $51 in cash and a premium of 6.5 percent of the previous day’s closing price. However, this price was below the price at which the stock traded in late 2005 and early 2006. (“HCA Agrees,” 2006) HCA is only one example of large companies being willing to go private because they are unhappy with scrutiny from investors and regulators. Once a company is acquired, there is always an option for them to go public again. There are however, some downfalls once privatized. Generally, the first step to take place is company restructuring. Restructuring may include downsizing through layoffs and/or completely eliminating entire company divisions or sections. Unfortunately, this may cause resentment from the remaining staff, and can result in negative effects from the community as a whole which can hinder the company’s economic growth and prosperity. (“Our History,” 2011) However, once all of the dust has settled and the company starts to make money investors can choose to resell the company for a profit.
The ultimate goal of any leveraged buyout is to revive the company and to earn a high rate of return. In the end, HCA investors turned the company around and HCA once again became a sought after publicly traded company. Shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HCA” on March 10,

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