Letters: Private equity and fast food

Re “Carl’s Jr. owner CKE delays IPO,” Business, Aug. 11

The private equity firm Apollo Management, which bought Carl’s Jr. operator CKE Inc. two years ago, did what many such firms do: use these companies as credit cards and load them with debt.

According to your article, Apollo paid itself $190 million in dividends from CKE last year while cutting costs in part by stopping matching contributions to employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts. Do you think the $190 million would have helped the CKE employees more than the executives at Apollo?

I am glad the initial public offering faltered. I have never been a customer and never will be.

Diane Haun

Culver City

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