The Lucrative World of Management Buyouts: Managers who succeed as bosses

Funds galore for LBO prospects | Tax snags of a global buyout | Europe is the next frontier | Some examples of recent MBOs | UK buyouts grow in complexity | Spawn of an era: specialist firms | Warnings fail to dim LBO dazzle

In 1971, Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts led the management buyout of a shoe company called Cobblers Inc. Six months later, the chief executive officer committed suicide. After failing with two successive attempts to replace him, KKR cut its losses and sold off the shoe company in pieces.