There's nothing stopping a PE firm from walking in with cash to buy a non-profit, then spin up the company as a for-profit. There's also nothing stopping the PE from owning a non-profit, as long as it's operated financially separate from the parent company. The problem with the second scenario, is it makes things harder when it comes to selling off parts of the non-profit when that income will be taken by the for-profit parent.Interesting, article states BMI’s existing shareholders need to vote and approve this but nonprofits don’t usually have shareholders.
Also, in many states conversion of a nonprofit into a profit company requires Orphans (or other court) approval and usually involves establishment of a nonprofit endowment/foundation with funds from the nonprofit to make up for years of nonprofit tax breaks.