InsiderFlow › Glossary › What is private equity?
Private equity invests in unlisted companies: it buys them, transforms them and resells them years later, targeting multiples of invested capital.
PE funds raise capital from institutions and large fortunes, acquire companies (often with debt, in "leveraged buyouts"), improve — in theory — their operations and sell them after 4–7 years or take them public. Industry giants: Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle.
For the investor it means capital locked for years and no daily pricing; reported returns are historically high, but debate over risk, leverage and valuation transparency runs hot.
On InsiderFlow these concepts come alive on real data: what big funds and insiders are buying, explained every day.
Venture funds young startups with minority stakes; private equity buys control of mature companies.
Directly almost never; indirectly yes, by buying listed shares of managers like Blackstone or KKR.