Who killed Toys 'R' Us

Why don't companies avoid getting bought up by the likes of Bain capital?

At its peak, Toys "R" Us was considered a classic example of a category killer, a business that specializes so thoroughly and efficiently in one sector that it pushes out competition from both smaller specialty stores and larger general retailers.[25] Since the rise of mass merchants like Walmart, Target and Amazon, however, Toys "R" Us lost much of its share of the toy market, and fell behind Walmart in toy sales for 1998.[26]

To improve the company, the board of directors installed John Eyler (formerly of FAO Schwarz) in 2000.[27] Eyler launched an unsuccessful, expensive plan to remodel and re-launch the chain.[28] Blaming market pressures (primarily competition from Walmart and Target), Toys "R" Us considered splitting its toy and baby businesses.[29] On March 17, 2005, a consortium of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Vornado Realty Trust announced a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout of the company.[30] Public stock closed for the last time on July 21, 2005 at $26.74—a 63% increase since when it first announced that the company was put up for sale. Toys "R" Us became a privately owned entity after the buyout.[31] However, the company still files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (as required by its debt agreements).[32]