px_eliezer_ but we all do know the old biological principle that "smart parasites don't kill their hosts".
IIRC, these were the stories I found during the DSLR days that showed how Private Equity in the form of Golden Gate (real estate) and Thai Union (seafood) f**ked over Red Lobster
https://prospect.org/economy/2024-05-22-raiding-red-lobster/ -- The Raiding of Red Lobster
... Golden Gate crippled Red Lobster by selling off one of its most valuable assets, the real estate it owned, in what’s known as a sale-leaseback, for $1.5 billion. With that sale, Golden Gate nearly made back its $2.1 billion purchase of Red Lobster, while turning the chain into a permanent leaser, adding a massive additional cost in the form of rent that was orders of magnitude bigger than the cost of Endless Shrimp. When commercial leases started going up, Red Lobster was highly exposed, but by then Golden Gate had already sold off its shares to Thai Union, which inherited all the debts Golden Gate stacked on the company. ...
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/25/business/red-lobster-bankruptcy-thai-union/index.html -- How a global seafood giant broke Red Lobster
When seafood conglomerate Thai Union Group became Red Lobster’s leading shareholder in 2020, gaining 49% control of the chain, Red Lobster employees were assured Thai Union would not interfere in key decisions. ... But as Thai Union installed executives at the chain, dozens of veteran Red Lobster leaders with deep knowledge of the brand and restaurant industry were fired or resigned in rapid succession. Red Lobster ended up having five CEOs in five years. ...
My conclusion after reading both articles was that neither Golden Gate nor Thai Union were very smart parasites... 🙄 🙄 🙄 No ANDS, IFS, BUTS or MAYBES.
How Red Lobster fares now.... ya got me, and why I'm keeping my ear to the ground. "We'll See."
Regards