Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Pooh-Poohing Private Equity

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"I am putting the private-equity stocks in the sell block," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Thursday.

That means don't buy Blackstone(BX Quote) on its weakness, nor the planned Apollo or KKR IPOs.

"This is a business I know well," since being a hedge fund manager isn't very different from being a private-equity manager, Cramer said. "I can't have you owning these stocks. ... They seem like they could be the next big thing, but the truth is they're the last big thing."

These companies are too expensive, said Cramer, but more than that, it's just not the right time. "Now you're really getting in at the end, not the beginning, of this trend," Cramer said.

He said that even if these companies are great, with great managers and great track records, "buying them now may be close to a top. It's the wrong time."

One reason not to buy, Cramer said, is that especially if the Democrats get someone in the White House in 2008, they're going to "tax the heck out of" private equity and try to "squeeze them dry."

Another reason is that there are "too many people with too much money trying to get a piece of the action."

Cramer's third reason for not being a buyer of private equity is that the Street tends to take companies public at the end of a cycle. "Coming public means they're selling, not buying," Cramer said.

"Don't bet against these guys," he said. "Just don't buy when they're selling."