What's so bad about private equity?

Private equity has a PR problem. If you heard that your company was being taken over by a private-equity firm, you might well start worrying that job cuts would be coming soon and the quality of work would be sacrificed in order to squeeze out more profit. But is that accurate? Chicago Booth's Steve Kaplan, an expert on private equity, says that private-equity firms frequently invest and grow companies more effectively than other owners. But does that justify their big fees? And could companies take the same actions without being taken over by private equity?