随着电商持续吞噬商品消费份额，美国购物街和 strip mall 正被服务业接管，而私募股权（PE）已成为这一重构的核心资本力量。如今 85% 的 PE 投资流向员工少于 500 人的公司，PE 从 2016 年拥有美国十大洗车连锁中的 2 家升至如今拥有 10 家全部，并在截至 2025 年 6 月的一年中占到空调承包商并购的 50%。
关于“PE 会系统性掏空企业”的指控与总体数据并不完全一致：超过 20,000 家美国企业由 PE 持有，但 2024 年仅有 75 家破产，且最严格研究显示即便杠杆更高，PE 支持企业的违约概率也不高于其他企业。真正的风险在护理等信息不对称行业更突出，一项 2021 年研究发现 Medicare 患者在 PE 持有养老院中的短期死亡概率高出 11%，但 2025 年研究又显示在高竞争市场里，PE 持有机构反而出现更高 staffing ratio 和更好评分。
行业渗透率也揭示了监管重点：PE 至少运营美国 5% 的养老院、提供约 10% 的托育名额，并拥有约 12% 的牙科诊所。与此同时，Solidcore 显示了正向样本：2017 年引入 PE 后门店年扩张速度从约 5 家翻倍以上，2021 年定价改革后经常性会员费收入占比从 20% 升至 60-70%，而美国零售空置率约 4%，英国多地则高出 2-3 倍，说明“PE 化服务替代”在一定程度上对冲了空置恶化。
As e-commerce keeps absorbing a rising share of goods spending, America’s shopping streets and strip malls are being taken over by services, with private equity (PE) as a central source of capital in that reshaping. Today, 85% of PE investments go to firms with fewer than 500 employees, PE moved from owning 2 of America’s 10 largest car-wash chains in 2016 to all 10 now, and it represented 50% of air-conditioning-contractor acquisitions in the year to June 2025.
The claim that PE systematically strips businesses is not fully matched by aggregate data: more than 20,000 American businesses are PE-owned, yet only 75 went bankrupt in 2024, and the most rigorous studies find no higher default probability for PE-backed firms even with greater leverage. The sharper risks appear in care sectors with information asymmetries, where a 2021 study found an 11% higher short-term death probability for Medicare patients in PE-owned nursing homes, but a 2025 study showed that in highly competitive markets PE-backed facilities instead had higher staffing ratios and better ratings.
Penetration rates also show where oversight pressure is strongest: PE now runs at least 5% of U.S. nursing homes, provides around 10% of child-care slots, and owns about 12% of dental practices. At the same time, Solidcore illustrates the upside case: after taking PE capital in 2017, annual studio growth rose from about 5 openings to more than double, and after a 2021 pricing reset, recurring membership revenue rose from 20% to 60-70%, while U.S. retail vacancy is about 4% versus roughly 2-3 times that level in much of Britain, suggesting PE-backed service replacement has partly offset storefront decline.
Source: Rejoice! Private equity is taking over America’s small businesses
Subtitle: Its ghoulish reputation is ill-deserved
Dateline: 2月 26, 2026 08:17 上午 | Washington, DC