Private equity as a commodification of companies: the case of the German automotive supply industry

Private equity is a form of financialization in which companies become commodities. This paper examines for the first time the impact of private equity on a single sector, the automotive supply industry, in a coordinated market economy. It demonstrates that companies hereby entered a cycle of uncertainty: many were taken over by financial investors several times, they were divorced from their regional production ties, and were given international owners. In addition, corporate governance changed, keeping employees away from traditional information and decision-making channels