Billionaires line up to take their unloved companies private

Move over, private equity: There are some new buyers in town, and they know their targets better than anyone.

Billionaire owners from Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son to French media magnate Patrick Drahi are looking at removing their crown jewels from the spotlight of public markets. The potential moves to take their firms private mean they won’t have to deal with volatile markets and increasingly vocal shareholders.

Companies have already announced $26 billion of transactions to be taken private by a related party this year, up about 2,500% from the same period in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Many of the deals involve ultra-rich founders who have been helped by cheap financing and the sluggish share performance of their businesses at a time when the broader market is surging.