This site is intended to pick up where the Buyout of America book leaves off.

We would like it to be a forum where we tell you what is presently going on with private equity companies, the private equity debate, and list what companies private equity firms bought in leveraged buyouts (LBOs).

I go toe-to-toe on the Jan. 18 PBS NewsHour with a partner at a private equity firm debating how the PE industry impacts the economy.

Appearing Jan. 13 on Fox Business, I reveal what Romney considered when buying companies and criticize Steve Rattner’s op-ed defending Romney and Bain Capital.

I explain to Lou Dobbs Jan. 12 how Mitt Romney’s claim of creating 100,000 jobs makes little sense since he is combining venture capital investments in which he did not control the businesses, with companies he controlled through leveraged buyouts. TPM has a nice story explaining the difference between private equity and venture capital.

There is a good question and answer segment I had Jan. 12 on how Bain makes money from tax gimmicks, and how our tax laws should be changed. The New Yorker weighs in with a good analysis.

MSNBC’s UP With Chris Hayes interviewed me Jan. 7 to learn about how Mitt Romney made money by hurting businesses (my segment is at the bottom of link).

A Huffington Post columnist says Dec. 30 that Obama advisor David Axelrod is using the Buyout of America as the basis for his Romney attacks.

I explain in a Washington Post Dec. 14 article investigating Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital how he did not buy troubled businesses, as he claims, but companies with consistent earnings, in which he could extract dividends.

The influential Daily Kos web-site Nov. 25 said what The Buyout of America reveals about Mitt Romney makes him unelectable.

Nationally syndicated columnist Robyn Blumner Nov. 13  said the Buyout of America showed that Mitt Romney made money by plundering companies.  

A Los Angeles Times article does a very good job focusing on Bain’s 10 biggest investments during Romney’s time at the firm. Four of those companies went bankrupt.

A Boston Consulting Group partner in a Los Angeles Times op-ed captures what Romney did at Bain and explains how few would benefit if he ran the country in a similar manner.

My February 2011 story in the New York Post revealed how Mitt Romney’s past made him a Working Class Zero. 

The book is about more than Romney’s Bain Capital. We ask you to send in reflections on your experiences with private equity owned companies, which will be shared with readers, and thoughts on the subject.

Portfolio published the paperback of the Buyout of America  Nov. 30, 2010.
There are new updates throughout the book, which is more timely than ever with the public concerned about how Wall Street impacts Main Street.

Private Equity Updates Share Your Experience | Private Equity News

Next Great Credit Crisis Delayed, But Still Looming US cos have $1.2 trillion of below investment grade debt, much from LBOs, that needs to be refinanced from 2012 through 2017 (most from 2014-17), according to a July 2011 MB Global Partners report. Cos refinanced $398 billion of loans, extending repayment from 2011 to 2014,  but banks without Fed stimulus may not be so forgiving in the future.   The Lack of Private Equity Growth Story A Moody’s December 2011 report found the 40 biggest US LBOs in the 2006-08 period had revenue growth of four percent through June 30, 2011 compared to 14 percent for the broader universe of non-financial rated companies. But earnings kept pace with peers indicating “PE firms may have been more aggressive in reducing costs.”

WATCH & LISTEN»

Josh Kosman Debating the merits of Private Equity March 3, 2011 at Sciences Po University, Paris Watch Josh Kosman speak»|Watch Panel Discussion (heated exchange starts at 42:00)»

Josh Kosman speaking at media lauch party for the November 17 release of the paperback edition of Buyout of America at the Empire Room (on the ground floor of the Empire State Building) where the crowd drunk "Screwed Worker" cocktails. Watch Josh Kosman's speech»

Featured on PBS Newshour's Potential Risks of Buying Companies on Borrowed Money Examined on July 16, 2010 Watch PBS NewsHour Report»

Listen to NPR's Joshua Kosman, Predicting The Next Credit Crisis on November 16, 2009 Listen to NPR Radio: Fresh Air with Terry Gross»