Private Equity

*/By Rick Nason, PhD, CFA
Partner, RSD Solutions Inc./*

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I just finished King Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall and Rise Again of
Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone, by David Carey and John E. Morris.  I
finished it on the beach in the Bahamas as I am on a short working
vacation.  The story of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone is quite well known
to anyone who follows the capital markets and the private equity market in
particular.  The impact of private equity on the fates of publicly traded
corporations makes for an interesting beach read.  The impact of private
equity on the publicly traded corporation also makes for a lively dinner
debate – depending on whom your dinner mates are.

As I finished the book, listening to the waves run onto the beach, a thought
occurred to me – "What if risk management at each company was publicly
traded (perhaps through an equity carve-out).  What impact would a private
equity take-out have on the operations of such risk management
departments?"

I think it is an interesting question – one that I might get back to after
I finish the cocktail that was just brought to me.


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