Banks are often leery of lending money for management buy-outs, which means management must either come up with the money on their own, or turn to private equity financing.  Private equity backers generally aim to maximize their return and make an exit after 3-5 years while minimizing risk to them selves.  Backers will also normally impose terms on management as to how the company shall be run; although in most instances these terms are not so onerous as to harm profitability; often quite the contrary.