private equity

noun

plural private equities

1

: investment in a company that does not trade on a public stock exchange : interest in a private company

… the proportion of the pension fund parked in private equity grew from nearly 21% of the portfolio in 2014 to about 28% earlier this year.

—Alex Baumhardt

—often used before a noun

private equity investments

2

: investment groups that pool the money of investors in order to acquire ownership shares in private companies

Private equity likes to acquire firms with debt, merge some of them together, find efficiencies, expand and then sell the company or go public on the stock market—in hopes of making a profit for investors.

—Kelly Yamanouchi

Examples of private equity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

General Mills spun off Darden Restaurants in 1995, and then Darden sold Red Lobster in 2014, in a deal with the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital that still stings many veterans to this day. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

Another Company Sometimes, the best way forward for a small business is to sell to a larger company in the same industry, which is typically owned by a private equity firm. — Frank Williamson, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Starbucks valued its China business at more than $13 billion in a deal last November that sold its controlling stake to Boyu Capital, a private equity firm based in Beijing. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026

Recommendations From Frontofficesports, a story on how private equity can be helpful for youth sports. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for private equity

• inequity