November 21, 2006

Michael Kinsley notes that publicly-traded stocks are sometimes bought out and taken private, and that private equity managers sometimes make profit on these deals. He concludes that the free market does not work.

The non sequitur is appalling. It is apparently beyond Kinsley's comprehension that private equity managers could add value to a corporation through better management.

Kinsley acknowledges that private equity managers, by taking a company private, could be increasing the value of a corporation by avoiding the regulatory burdens that accompany public trading, but then again concludes that this shows that the free market can not work, rather than the obvious conclusion that the regulatory constraints on the free market are inefficient and create opportunities for profit through avoidance.