Gym class heroes: The Tipline for 30 June 2022

The Federal Trade Commission’s Democrats aren’t fans of PE. The agency’s majority sees private equity as M&A’s version of high school gym class, but instead of challenging students with shaky pushups and sweaty pullups, it's swallowing up small businesses with stealthy rollups and leveraged buyouts. For the second time this month, the commission is trumpeting the fact that it required conditional approval for a PE firm’s proposed merger – even if those assets are being handed off to other PE firms.