> Better tell Michaels and Hobby Lobby then, because I don't think they got your memo.

Michael's is owned by Apollo Group.

Hobby Lobby is family owned, but unlike Joann's and Michael's they wouldn't take long term leases or purchase the stores themselves, and concentrate on higher margin furniture.

> The PE did the usual LBO shit of borrowing a the purchase money and then transferring the debt to the company

Yep, but who else was interested in investing in Joann's in the 2010s? There were way better asset classes like Pharma, Finance, and Tech that you could invest in and get better returns.

LBOs are basically investors of last resort - this is where zombie companies (which Joann's absolutely was) go to die.

> I'll miss them because touching fabric is important

And we're lucky that local hobbyist shops still exist along with local fabrics shops. They can provide a better customer experience than a big box like Joann's, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby with decent margins.

> Yep, but who else was interested in investing in Joann's in the 2010s?

This is begging the question. At no point did Joann's require investment.

> At no point did Joann's require investment.

Inventory, salaries, rent, mortgages on stores, ERP, expansion, etc all cost money.

Yet if revenue remains flat or grows at a rate that is lower than the above inputs, you absolutely need capital.

That's just restating the thesis. It's still begging the question.

How do you know? Have you gone over their financial statements?

I did, actually.

Anyone who owns equity might want to sell it at any point in time for myriad reasons, regardless of what is on financial statements or “need for investment”.

That argument does not apply in the current case, though, because Joann was being publicly traded [1] when it got bought by private equity in 2011. The management of the publicly-traded company explained,

>“We are excited about the prospect of working with Leonard Green & Partners [a private-equity firm] as we further capitalize on opportunities to accelerate the expansion and upgrade of our stores and pursue market share gains,” Darrell Webb, chairman and chief executive of Jo-Ann Stores, said in a statement [1].

[1] https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/...

Part of owning equity in a publicly traded company is for shareholders to accept the decisions of the board (management). Or otherwise engage in a conflict with the board. Even if Joann was a viable business on its own, if most shareholders wanted to accept the price being offered for the business (presumably reflected by the board's votes), then that is all that matters.

I don't think anyone is arguing over that. What we're saying is that Joann's was a victim of private equity, which is orthogonal to that point.