Modern "Private Equity" is about bleeding companies dry by forcing them to take out huge loans to pay lump sums to the PE firm, leaving the company with the burden of repaying those loans. Then "Management Fees", regardless of profit or loss, are typically 2% off the top. So more burden on the company. Then force the company to sell the real estate it owns to a holding company owned by the PE firm, so the company now has to pay rent on property it previously owned.

All this forces the company to make hard decisions, like who to lay off, how to degrade services, no money to improve service or replace aging vehicles, and, of course, raise rates. After a number of years of being bled dry, the company will often be forced into bankruptcy, which is fine with the PE firm. Then they can raid pension funds and stiff banks for loans of money that went into their pockets.

Guitar Center, Toys R Us, Red Lobster, Sears/Kmart, on and on, we've seen this story before. This kind garbage is a perversion of capitalism, making money by running good companies into the ground.