“They retreated because of conflicts, and they are returning despite those conflicts still being present,” says an executive at one private-equity firm.

"They retreated because of conflicts, and they are returning despite those conflicts still being present," says an executive at one private-equity firm.

George Kappaz is a private-equity boss who recently gave a complex job to Clearspire (structuring an equity package for Astrata, one his fund's firms).