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    "headline": "Private Equity Leaders Emphasize Operational Due Diligence Over Blind Investment",
    "dek": "A private equity consultant argues that successful management requires deep operational analysis rather than relying solely on financial metrics.",
    "prose": "Conducting a thorough business due diligence is the critical factor in determining the success or failure of a private equity investment. [^1]\n\nPrivate equity firms acquire companies primarily to purchase undervalued or improvable assets, increase their value, and sell them in the future to generate investment returns. [^2]\n\nA 2026 study in Annals of Surgery found that rural hospitals acquired by private equity experienced increases in postoperative mortality and complications compared with similar hospitals that were not acquired. [^3]\n\nBetween 2019 and 2023, private equity firms completed 65% of all physician-practice acquisitions. [^4]\n\nSince 2005, 197 rural hospitals have closed or converted to other uses, with roughly half operating at a loss and 418 considered vulnerable to closure. [^5]\n\nThe collapse of Massachusetts-based Steward Health Care resulted in an estimated $1.3 billion being hauled off by its private equity owner and executives before the system entered bankruptcy in 2024 with more than $9 billion in liabilities. [^6]\n\nThe author, a leader at a private equity consulting firm, has conducted over 100 business due diligence projects for private equity firms and corporate clients over the past 10 years. [^7]\n\nTwo years after the private equity firm acquired the mid-sized enterprise, they were unable to accurately determine the reasons for changes in the company's sales and performance. [^8]",
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      "statement": "Conducting a thorough business due diligence is the critical factor in determining the success or failure of a private equity investment.",
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