One issue that the private equity industry must deal with is the relatively poor short-term returns that exit IPOs have posted. Last year, four of the biggest buyout IPOs, backed by the likes of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group and Apollo Management have sunk starkly. Only recently did they get close again to their initial offer price. There are exceptions of course, but the overall performance seems to play to those who claim these buyouts fatten the already fat cats and leave debt-saddled companies in their wake. That would be a canard however. Long-term, it turns out that these IPOs aren't so bad. Moreover, the greater the involvement by the PE firms, the better the shares fare. So one thing big buyers may want to look for is how long the PE kept the company private.

For more:
- here's a New York Times piece