Breakingviews takes a look at the sort of fees that private equity companies charge their portfolio companies and reveals "just how adept the industry is at fortifying its own pockets with a laundry list of fees. Buyout barons win every time."

Specifically, it takes a look at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' and Goldman Sachs' deal for Dollar General. When the deal closed, both firms took $75 million payments as "success fees." Over the next two years, they took $13 million in "monitoring fees." They will pay another $64 million in a kind of "termination fee" after the upcoming IPO. This comes on top of the standard management fee and 20 percent cut of profits. Most of this benefits limited partners. It can indeed be a profitable business, in good times and bad.  

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