In November 2007, rating agency Standard & Poor’s wrote about leveraged buyouts in a report, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The picture has worsened. Last month, S&P said two private equity-owned companies had been upgraded compared with eight downgraded out of the 15 largest US rated LBOs.

The downgrades include computer chip manufacturer Freescale Semiconductor and Spanish language media company Univision Communications.