GTCR LLC is a

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

firm focused on

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...

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 b ...

growth capital Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority interest, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets ...

and rollup 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, Carl Thoma, and Bryan Cressey. In the 1970s, Golder built the private equity program at First Chicago Corp. where he is noted primarily for backing

Federal Express FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company specializing in transportation, e-commerce, and business services. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tenness ...

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. 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 (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

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 and

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, venture capitalist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he had a decades-long career in inves ...

), the private equity firm, based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, now known as GTCR. GTCR founder Stanley Golder died in 2000 and lead partner Bruce Rauner retired in 2012. Today the firm is led by several senior partners, including Collin Roche, Dean Mihas, Craig Bondy and David Donnini.Rauner makes it official, retires from GTCR
an article in Crain's Chicago Business dated October 19, 2012 * Thoma Cressey, (Carl Thoma and Bryan Cressey) based in

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. 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 type of partnership with general partners, who have a right to manage the business, and limited partners, who have no right to manage the business but have only limited liability for its debts. Limited partnership ...

and its investors include a variety of

pension funds A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any program, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income. The U.S. Government's Social Security Trust Fund, which oversees $2.57 trillion in assets, is the world' ...

(e.g., Washington State Investment Board, Pennsylvania State Employee's Retirement System) endowments and other

institutional investors An institutional investor is an entity that pools money to purchase security (finance), securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, s ...

. Following its separation from Thoma Cressey (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 equity. ...

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) *2023 - Fund XIV ($11.5 billion)

Acquisitions

In August 2023, it was announced GTCR had acquired the

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and

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-headquartered compliance and supply chain management software platform, Once For All, from

Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York City, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. As of April 2024 the f ...

for an undisclosed amount. In September 2023, it was announced GTCR had acquired the

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-based foundation software provider for private foundations and charitable advisors, Foundation Source. In October 2023, GTCR acquired the commercial security, fire and life safety business unit of ADT Inc. for $1.6 billion. In December 2023, GTCR acquired Cloudbreak Health from UpHealth for $180 million.

External links

GTCR
(official website)

References

{{Private equity and venture capital Financial services companies established in 1980 Private equity firms of the United States Companies based in Chicago American companies established in 1980