In 2007 private equity finance became a major issue of public concern in the UK. The failed bid to buy J. Sainsbury and the successful bid to buy Alliance Boots highlighted that private equity finance had reached a new level in its purchasing power. The controversy regarding private equity finance split into two lines of argument: were they benevolent entrepreneurs or predatory asset strippers? This book traces the historical rise of private equity finance in the US and UK over the last 40 years. It shows how this new industry has grown as credit markets have evolved. It provides a clear account of how a buyout works, of how buyouts have been theorized, and of the various empirical claims made for private equity finance. Looking at private equity in terms of its overall context of development provides an opportunity to ask a series of questions. Is private equity finance a claimed solution to problems it helps to create? Is it a claimed solution that creates new, unnecessary, problems? Does it create moral issues of entitlement?