I've said enough about the evils of KKR (look up KKR's acquisition of RJReynolds) having lived through one of the tumultuous times in this community's history.
What about Silver Lake? Well, it would seem to be a choice between
evil and
eviler.
Take a look at what
Silver Lake is doing to Skype before the Microsoft purchase of Skype.
Essentially, Silver Lake is decreasing its obligations and increasing its profitability from the buyout by reportedly firing all the top echelon of Skype. By doing so, it nulls any buyout and vesting options in the executives contracts. They can only benefit from their options if they are on board during the buyout and transition.
Making a such a move (denied by many sources) takes tens of millions of dollars out of Skype executive's pockets and puts those same tens of millions of dollars into the pockets of Silver Lake investors.
Welcome to the world of buyouts and forced takeovers.