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Snapshots
This page highlights some major funds, with an emphasis
on those that are active in the media sector.
It covers -
 Alchemy
Partners
UK-based Alchemy, established in 1997 by a co-founder
of Permira, is reported to have made profits of over £750m
from investing £1.5bn in 70 companies, generally
on a smaller scale than competitors such as Apax. It is
unusual in offering participants a 12 month rolling notice
period, in contrast to the usual requirement that investors
are locked in for five to seven years.
Its corporate site is here.
Apax
Partners
Apax operates across the US, Europe and Israel. It boasts
that it has raised or advised some US$20bn for "long-term
equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies"
through "a multi-stage equity investment strategy,
investing in late venture, growth capital and buyouts".
Apax's funds invest in the "Tech & Telecom",
Retail & Consumer, Media, Healthcare and Financial
& Business Services sectors.
Apax funds have taken stakes in CME, PCM Uitgevers, Yell
Directories, VNU World Directories, Incisive Media and
MediMedia.
Its corporate site is here.
Apollo
Management
Apollo, founded by Milken protege Leon Black in 1990,
gained a profile by buying junk bonds (notably the debt
portfolio of insurer Executive Life, acquired for US$3
billion but with a face value of US$6 billion).
It has had a major presence in Telemundo, Intelsat, real
estate franchiser Realogy (Coldwell Banker, Century 21
and Sotheby's International Realty), the AMC cinema chain
and casino group Harrah's Entertainment (acquired in partnership
with Texas Pacific for US$27.8 billion in 2006).
Bain
Capital
Bain Capital, established in 1984, encompasses a range
of finance sector operations. It claims to be "one
of the world's leading private investment firms with approximately
$40 billion in assets under management". Bain Capital's
"family of funds includes private equity, venture
capital, public equity and leveraged debt assets".
Enterprises in the Bain orbit include Houghton Mifflin,
Cumulus Media Partners, Advertising Directory Solutions,
Warner Music, ProSiebenSat.1 and Canadian Yellow Pages,
along with publications such as American Physical
Therapy. Non-media involvement has encompassed Burger
King, Dunkin Brands and Philips' semiconductor arm.
Its corporate site is here.
Blackstone
Blackstone was founded in 1985 by former Lehman Bros executive
Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, raising investment
funds in the late 1980s. As of 2006 it boasted a US$15.6bn
private equity fund that it identified as the largest
in the world and overall had some US$71bn under management.
In 2007, as its principles contemplated an IPO, it was
reported as managing US$28bn in private equity funds,
US$16.7bn in hedge funds, US$13bn in real estate funds
and US$6.5bn in debt funds. Blackstone also has a restructuring
practice that has advised companies in bankruptcy (including
Enron) and a mergers & acquisitions advisory arm.
Media and entertainment holdings include Houghton Mifflin,
Freedom, Cumulus Media Partners and Universal Studios
Florida. Non-media interests have included the Savoy hotel
group, Cadbury Schweppes' European beverage operations,
Celanese, Travelport, Trizec Properties and CarrAmerica
Realty.
Its corporate site is here.
Candover
Candover was established in 1980, with a listing on the
LSE in 1984. Its focus is on Belgium, Luxembourg, France,
Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and Spain. As of 2006 it had
invested in 128 deals with a total value of over €35bn.
It boasts that "almost 90% of companies we have backed
have achieved successful exits via stock market listings
or trade sales".
Candover's investment trust has taken stakes in UPC Norway,
Bertelsmann Springer, Kluwer Academic Publishers and Bureau
van Dijk Electronic Publishing.
Its corporate site is here.
Carlyle
Group
The Carlyle Group boasts US$44.3bn under management, with 42
funds covering "investment disciplines" - buyouts,
venture & growth capital, real estate and leveraged
finance. It was founded in 1987 and as of 2006 claimed
to have invested US$22.4bn in 528 transactions, including
US$1.7bn of its own capital. In recent years it has replaced
KKR as a target for conspiracists and anti-globalisation
enthusiasts.
Investments have included Aprovia, Baker & Taylor,
Dex, VNU, Casema and MediMedia.
Its corporate site is here.
Cerberus
Manhattan-based Cerberus Capital Management, with US$24bn
as of late 2006, was founded in 1992 by Stephen Feinberg.
Investments encompass General Motors' finance arm GMAC,
car rental chains National and Alamo, Air Canada, and
retailers Mervyn's and Albertson's.
Its corporate site is here.
Cinven
Cinven was founded in 1977, with a focus on European enterprises.
As of 2006 it had invested in buyouts with a value in
excess of €55bn. In 2002 Cinven closed its latest
fund (some €4.4bn), with over 100 institutional investors
from 19 nations.
Cinven has funded media deals involving Hodder Headline,
ABC Cinemas, Odeon cinemas, LH Media, IPC magazines, Kluwer
Academic Publishers, VNU World Directories, Newsquest,
Aprovia, MediMedia and BertelsmannSpringer.
Involvement outside the media sector includes United Biscuits
Its corporate site is here.
Clayton,
Dubilier & Rice
Founded in 1978, CD&R notes that it has managed investment
of over US$6bn of equity in 38 US and European businesses,
with an aggregate transaction value of over US$40bn.
Its corporate site is here.
CVC
CVC identifies itself as "an independent buy-out
group", founded in 1981. As of 2006 it had raised
over US$18bn in Europe (US$15.5bn) and Asia. It boasts
that it has acquired over 220 enterprises in Europe for
a total consideration of some €61.9bn. Its European
portfolio as of 2006 comprised of 38 companies, with "a
combined transaction size of over €32.2 billion".
CVC Asia Pacific, formed in 1999, currently handles US$2.7bn
private equity funds, having acquired 17 companies in
the region for over US$4.3bn.
Stakes in Europe, Australia and elsewhere include PBL
Media (the dominant commercial tv network and magazine
publisher), Veen Bosch & Keuning, SEAT Pagine Gialle
and Formula One rights management. Outside the media sector
it has been involved in Pacific Brands
Its corporate site is here.
Hicks
Muse Tate & Furst
Interests badged as HM Capital Partners, Hicks & Haas,
Hicks Muse Tate & Furst (HMTF) and Lion Capital trace
their origins to 1977. HM Capital is currently investing
and managing a US$1.6 billion fund.
Funding by the 'HMTF' entities has encompassed LIN TV,
Chancellor Media, Capstar Communications, SFX Broadcasting,
United Artists cinemas, STC Television, Regal Cinemas
and Clear Channel. Other interests have included Perrier-Jouët
champagne, Swift & Co meat, .
Its corporate site is here.
KKR
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts - variously tagged as 'barbarians
at the gate' and 'pigs at the trough' - was founded in
1976 by Jerome Kohlberg, Henry Kravis and George Roberts.
It boasts that as of 2006 it had completed over 140 transactions
valued at US$215bn, supposedly creating US$68b of value
on US$26bn invested capital.
Entities funded by KKR, successfully or otherwise, include
Primedia, Wometco, Storer, SBS, Newsquest and Golden West
Television.
Non-media interests have included Safeway, Beatrice Foods,
Owens-Illinois, RJR Nabisco
Its corporate site is here.
Thomas
H Lee
Boston-based Thomas H Lee Partners was founded in 1974
by Thomas Lee (who departed in 2006 to establish competitor
Lee Equity Partners). As of 2006 it managed some US$12bn
of committed capital.
It has taken stakes in VNU, Warner Music, Houghton Mifflin,
American Media, ProSiebanSat.1 and Cumulus Media Partners.
Madison
Dearborn Partners
Madison Dearborn was founded in 1992. Activity has centred
on financial services (financial outsourcing, specialty
finance and banking), basic industries (forestry, paper
& packaging, building products), communications (media
and telephone systems), consumer (retail, restaurants
and consumer products) and health care (care providers,
medical equipment and outsourced clinical staffing). In
2006 it raised some US$6.5bn for its latest fund.
Interests have included Boise Cascade, Intelsat and Jefferson
Smurfit
Its corporate site is here.
Macquarie
Australian-based Macquarie, considered in more detail
later in this note, traces its origins to merchant bank
Hill Samuel Australia (HSA). It became Macquarie Bank
Ltd in 1985, listed on the ASX in 1996 and subsequently
expanded aggressively through development of investment
funds that have acquired assets across the globe. Some
of those funds have been listed on Australian and overseas
exchanges. The Macquarie funds encompass tollways and
other infrastructure, tourism, retail property, broadcasting,
nursing homes and airports.
It controls one of the dominant radio networks in Australia,
along with broadcasting infrastructure in the UK.
Its corporate site is here.
Merrill
Lynch Global Private Equity
Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (MLGPE), an arm of
the Merril Lynch financial services giant (with total
client assets of U$1.7 trillion), proclaims that it "opportunistically
invests in companies with high growth/profitability prospects
or strong cash flow characteristics and capable and experienced
management teams".
Its corporate site is here.
Oaktree
Oaktree Capital Management, LLC was founded in 1995 by
Howard Marks, Larry Keele, Bruce Karsh, Richard Masson,
Sheldon Stone and Stephen Kaplan.
It has been involved with Loews Cineplex and Grupo Cinemex.
Its corporate site is here.
Pacific
Equity Partners
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) was formed in 1998 by former
Bain & Co executives.
Local involvement includes buyouts of Griffins Foods,
Tegel Foods and Guardian Healthcare in New Zealand.
Its corporate site is here.
Permira
Permira acts as adviser to 19 Permira Funds (aggregate
€22bn). Since establishment in 1985 as Schroder Ventures
it has been involved in over 280 transactions in 15 countries.
Permira has a major stake in SBS and SEAT. It formerly
controlled German pay-tv group Premiere. Non-media interests
have included Travelodge, Little Chef
Its corporate site is here.
Providence
Equity Partners
Providence Equity specialises in equity investments in
media and communications, managing funds with over US$9bn
in equity commitments. It has invested in over 80 companies
in some 20 countries.
Providence has taken stakes in MGM, Freedom, Kerasotes
Theatres, Casema, Hallmark International, Recoletos, ProSiebanSat.1
and Warner Music Group
Its corporate site is here.
Terra
Firma
London-based
Terra Firma Capital Partners was founded in 2002 as the
independent successor to Nomura's Principal Finance Group
(est 1994). It has "invested over €7 billion
of equity and has completed transactions with an aggregate
transaction value" of over €30bn since
1994.
Its corporate site is here.
Texas
Pacific Group
Texas Pacific was founded in 1992 by by David Bonderman,
James Coulter and William Price. As of 2006 it claimed
US$20bn under management through a family of funds that
includes private equity, venture capital and public equity
and debt investing.
It has a stake in MGM.
Its corporate site is here.
3i
UK-based 3i (initially Investors In Industry) was founded
in 1945 as a provider of risk capital to British industry.
It floated on the London Stock
Exchange at a market capitalisation of £1.5bn in
1994
3i has acquired Irish regional newspapers (from Trinity
Mirror), business magazines (from VNU for €320m in
2006) and education (also from VNU).
Its corporate site is here.
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