What so many private equity companies do is predatory and should be banned. They buy the companies with debt financing, put the debt onto the companies' balance sheets so they (the PEs) get paid, and spin off the companies so laden with debt they have almost no chance of survival.

That said, "Not all PEs...." My spouse joined a small company a few years ago that had recently been bought from its founder-owner by a PE firm. This PE specialized in buying founder-owned companies in a particular industry that had good product(s) but didn't know how to grow. They brought in strong entrepreneurial leadership and better capitalization, enabling the company to grow its operations, revenue, and profits.