When private equity companies started buying technology companies, many hailed it as bold new step. These firms were not seen as ideal candidates for taking on cringing debt loads, given the volatile nature of their markets, notes Business Week Online. The magazine takes a look at the ballyhooed Freescale deal--purchased in 2006 by Blackstone, Carlyle and others--and concludes it "is shaping up to be one of the ugliest buyouts in history." Other technology buyouts also are faring poorly, and at the worst time possible. The debt is getting harder to grapple with as revenue falls. Many of the investors have marked down their investment 15 percent.

For more:
- here's the Business Week Online article

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