[charlesdm]

For a successful LBO, growth is largely irrelevant. What is relevant however, is that you can protect your existing market share. If you can buy a company for $1bn with $800m in debt and pay that down, and sell it for $1bn again 5 or 10 years down the line, you just made a cool $800m. If you can double the net profit, you'll be able to sell it for $2bn, etc.