Private Equity's extreme makeover

Over the years, private equity has been very, well, private. Many firms avoided media calls. Some did not even have Web sites.

Well, as private equity deals get much bigger – such as with the HCA and Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) transactions – it is impossible to keep things private. Now, the industry is front-page news. PRWeek covered the topic just recently.

The truth is, image-building can help with a variety of things like raising capital, finding new deals, and even crisis management (what if there are huge layoffs?). Something else: it could help to find talented employees.

I had a chance to interview Mark Stevens, who runs MSCO and is the author of the book, Your Marketing Sucks. According to him "for most of their history, private equity firms believed that branding was for corporate losers. But with more and more private equity firms competing for funds, capital flows first to those with the big brands. They are perceived as the stars that can provide the best assurance of high returns. May not be true but therein lies the power of brand equity."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.