Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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-based
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a typ ...
firm focused on
leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money ( leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loa ...
,
leveraged recapitalization
In corporate finance, a leveraged recapitalization is a change of the company's capital structure, usually substitution of debt for equity.
Overview
Such recapitalizations are executed via issuing bonds to raise money and using the proceeds to ...
,
growth capital
Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new mar ...
and
rollup
A rollup (also "roll-up" or "roll up") is a process used by investors (commonly private equity firms) where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged.
The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies o ...
transactions. The firm principally invests in high-growth industries, including financial services & technology, healthcare, information services & technology, and growth business services.
Since 1980, GTCR has reportedly invested more than $15 billion in over 200 companies."About GTCR" , company webpage As of 2021, the firm has more than 80 employees, including over 40 investment professionals.
History
The company was founded in 1980 as Golder Thoma & Co. by
Stanley Golder
Stanley C. Golder (February 16, 1929 – January 5, 2000) was an American financier and venture capitalist.First Chicago Corp. where he is noted primarily for backing
Federal Express
FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
and for efforts as chairman of the National Venture Capital Association and the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies to change federal laws allowing pensions to invest in private equity. Golder Thoma & Cressey received much of its initial funding from William M. Blair and upon leaving First Chicago, Golder was replaced by John A. Canning, Jr. who would go on to found rival Chicago private equity firm
Madison Dearborn
Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts of privately held or publicly traded companies, or divisions of larger companies; recapitalizations of family-owned or closely held companies; b ...
.
The firm became Golder Thoma & Cressey in 1984, and with the promotion of Bruce Rauner to partner the firm would come to be known as Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner, Inc. (GTCR), although it would still often be referred to as Golder Thoma.Stanley C. Golder , a donor profile at the
UIUC
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...
website
In 1998, disagreements between the senior partners led Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner, Inc. split into two private equity firms. Both firms continue to invest primarily through consolidations of specific industries, referred to as roll-ups:
*GTCR Golder Rauner, (
Stanley Golder
Stanley C. Golder (February 16, 1929 – January 5, 2000) was an American financier and venture capitalist.Bruce Rauner
Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and cha ...
), the private equity firm, based in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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Thoma Cressey
Thoma Bravo, LP, is an American private equity and growth capital firm with offices in San Francisco, Chicago and Miami. It is known for being particularly active in acquiring software companies and has over $114 billion in assets under manage ...
, (Carl Thoma and Bryan Cressey) based in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. Thoma Cressey would be renamed Thoma Cressey Bravo to reflect the growing role of partner Orlando Bravo. In 2008, Bryan Cressey left Thoma Cressey Bravo with several investment professionals to form Cressey & Co. a healthcare-focused private equity firm. Thoma Cressey Bravo became Thoma Bravo after Cressey’s departure, led by managing partners Carl Thoma, Orlando Bravo, Lee Mitchell and Scott Crabill. The firm closed its 9th fund in March 2009 with $822.5 million.
Investment funds
GTCR invests through a series of private
limited partnerships
A limited partnership (LP) is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership except that while a general partnership must have at least two general partners (GPs), a limited partnership must have at least one GP and at least one limited ...
and its investors include a variety of
pension funds
A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.
Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and priva ...
(e.g., Washington State Investment Board, Pennsylvania State Employee's Retirement System) endowments and other
institutional investors
An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linked co ...
.
Following its separation from
Thoma Cressey
Thoma Bravo, LP, is an American private equity and growth capital firm with offices in San Francisco, Chicago and Miami. It is known for being particularly active in acquiring software companies and has over $114 billion in assets under manage ...
(discussed above), GTCR has raised seven
private equity fund
A private equity fund (abbreviated as PE fund) is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equit ...
s totaling $20 billion in limited partner commitments:
* 1998 - Fund VI, ($870 million)
* 2000 - Fund VII ($2.0 billion)
* 2003 - Fund VIII ($1.8 billion)
* 2006 - Fund IX ($2.75 billion)
* 2011 - Fund X ($3.25 billion)
* 2014 - Fund XI ($3.85 billion)
*2017 - Fund XII ($5.25 billion)
*2020 - Fund XIII ($7.5 billion)