Hyenas typically eat carcasses. Similarly it seems PE usually buys already distressed businesses. Is the problem the PE or are they making the best from what's left of a dead business? I genuinely don't know.

Anecdotally, here in Portland metro everyone is upset about a PE firm that's ruining several beloved local restaurant chains. They bought them up during the pandemic and now many of them are closing. The local Reddit is hating on the PE firm. I suspect these restaurants would have closed during the pandemic if it hadn't been for the acquisition. They then failed anyways because certain parts of our metro area didn't recover well. I don't have access to their books. So I'm just speculating but this seems highly likely to me.