Private equity is a dirty set of words for many, as it means the likelihood of worse quality products, failure to invest properly in a company, layoffs, and the eventual death knell of said brand. We've seen it time and time again, as venture capital raises a ton of money, buys a company for an inflated sum, immediately cuts headcounts, and in two years time, sells the husk of the company for pennies on the dollar, leaving everyone out in the cold who'd given their blood, sweat, and years for something great.
And that's the accusation that's been placed at the feet of Dainese, the motorcycle safety and gear brand, after being bought by a consortium of private equity giants, including everyone's favorite bad guy, BlackRock.
Head to the comments sections of this very site, along with countless others, forums, and Reddit threads discussing the sale at the time and you'll find prognostications of Dainese's soon-to-be-death. And even in our original reporting on the sale, we were pretty doom and gloom, though you could hardly blame us, as most of RideApart's staff have been on the receiving end of PE ownership at one point or another.
