Introduction to 'The Going Private Phenomenon: Causes and Implications'

This essay introduces the papers presented at a conference at the University of Chicago Law School in June 2008, entitled "The Going Private Phenomenon: Causes and Implications." The papers will be published in a forthcoming volume of the University of Chicago Law Review. This introduction puts the papers in the context of the recent private equity boom and ongoing crunch, and it offers some preliminary views on the current and future state of the private equity industry.