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Top-level
Cory Doctorow
The most bonkers part of this strategy is that it's coming from private equity bosses, who laud themselves as the great strategists of the 21st century, whose claim on so much of our global capital and resources is derived from their brilliant insight, which allows them to buy "distressed assets" like Vice, "restructure" them to find "efficiencies" and sell them on. 16/ 6 comments | Expand all CWs
Cory Doctorow replied to Cory
The fact that these billionaire brain-geniuses can't figure out how to "turn around" a site whose workers a) produce brilliant, popular, successful work; and b) depart to found successful firms that commercialize that work tells you everything about their ability to spot "a good business opportunity." 18/
Cory Doctorow replied to Cory
PE - like other mafiosi - only have one business-plan, the "bust out," where you invade a business that produces useful things, force them to pay your chosen suppliers sky-high fees for things they don't need, extract massive fees for your "management" and then walk away from the collapse: https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben 19/
Cory Doctorow replied to Cory
I'm on tour with my new novel *The Bezzle*! Catch me TONIGHT in LA with @adamconover at Vroman's, then on MONDAY in SEATTLE with Neal Stephenson (Feb 26, Third Place Books). After that, it's Portland, Phoenix, Tucson, Anaheim and more! https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour eof/ 
Nicole Parsons replied to Cory
Parasites infect both healthy and unhealthy hosts. They alter their host organisms to suit the parasite. https://www.snexplores.org/article/parasitic-worms-alter-body-inflammation-immune-system-treatment In another example, vampire bats have similar strategies as hedge fund managers, of "feed & fly off". Although in the case of Chris Hohn, it's more "feed & eff off".
Nicole Parsons replied to Cory
Modern hedge fund managers are like chop shops. |
Gregory's Server
The reality is that PE goons - like other financiers - are basically herding animals. *Everyone's* hit on the tactic of buying up beloved media companies - from the 150-year-old *Popular Science* to modern publications like CNet - and then filling them with spammy garbage in the hopes that Google will fail to notice and continue to award them pride-of-place on search results pages:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task
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