Have you or any of your friends ever worked in a non-tech, non-finance business?

Many of them are incredibly poorly run. Bad hiring practices, little/no investment in operations or process, etc.

All I'm saying is, you have to look case by case at what's going on. Sometimes the PE firm does basically loot the business. In others, entrenched management has been there decades with little board or investor oversight, is performing way below the rest of the industry, and really does need a swift kick in the ass.

Don't rush to blame the PE guys here anyway. Everyone knows Americans are drinking much less milk, they probably bought it at a deep discount knowing they might not be able to turn it into a successful business, and that bet failed.