The "good" ones I know of tend to be smaller deals where the PE firm is pursuing a buy-and-hold approach in a sector where it has some knowledge and advantage. For example, Summa Equity bought Norsk Gjenvinning in Norway (a recycling company), refocused it on circular economy practices, and by most metrics it seems to be doing well for everyone. The Keiretsu companies an Japan are another example of the process working fairly well.

On the flip side, the high-profile "pump and dump" PE deals almost always seem to be bad for everyone but the PE firm and shareholders.

Usually my rule of thumb at work is that if a key SaaS vendor gets bought by private equity, we start planning a migration project. We just about always wind up needing one, as the private equity firm tries to milk customers for all they're worth while degrading service.

Maybe Barnes and Noble?

https://www.theverge.com/23642104/barnes-and-noble-amazon-bo...

At least according to that interview, it was going well at the time about a year ago.

On Semiconductor was spun out of Motorola at the height of the dot com bubble. Their primary business at the time was commodity parts, a capital intensive and cyclical industry.

At their lowest, TPG became a majority shareholder and strongly influenced operations. The initial plan was a quick fix, but TPG saw opportunity and helped OnSemi make the jump up the component food chain.

A major part of this was the low cost structure that TPG drove. This then allowed for cheaper credit options which freed up money for M&A.

Hilton - https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/050415/what-are-som...

Hilton was in trouble after 2008 crisis. Blackstone purchased them as a lifeline. Under Blackstone, Hilton reorganized itself and then Blackstone sold them off.

Maybe Dell in 2013.

But the point of PE buying a company is so that the company can help PE's mission, not PE helping the company's.

I can't think of one. The most determined brands sometimes buy themselves back from PE - a recent example is Wahoo