J.C. Flowers & Co. is an American

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 ...

investment firm, focused on investments in the

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

sector. The firm, founded in 2001, is based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and run by billionaire J. Christopher Flowers, a former

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

partner. As of 2017, the firm had invested more than $15 billion in capital. JC Flowers manages two

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, J.C. Flowers I LP, closed in 2002 with $900 million of committed capital, and J.C. Flowers II LP, closed in 2006 with $7.0 billion of committed capital. Both funds are focused exclusively on the

sector. JC Flowers in Europe is led by its managing director, David Morgan.

Investments

JC Flowers' most notable investments include such

companies as: * Chi-X Australia along with Chi-X Japan and Chi-Tech Hong Kong * Enstar Group *

Shinsei Bank is a leading diversified Japanese financial institution that provides a full range of financial products and services to both institutional and individual customers. It is owned by SBI Holdings, SBI Group and headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo, Chuo, ...

* NIBC Bank N.V. * Hypo Real Estate Group (Germany) (formerly 24.9%) * First Bank (Romania) (76.1%) * HSH Nordbank (Germany) (26.6%) * Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller * Equita Sim (Italy) (50.01%) * Eurovita (Italy) (78.19%) *

MF Global MF Global Holdings Ltd., formerly known as Man Financial, was a major global financial derivatives broker, or commodities brokerage firm that went bankrupt in 2011. MF Global provided exchange-traded derivatives, such as futures and options ...

(US) (6.8%) * One Savings Bank (UK) - Specialist Mortgage Lender

Other notable activity

JC Flowers has also been active in a number of high-profile contemplated transactions that did not occur. In mid-2007, an investor group led by JC Flowers signed an agreement to purchase

Sallie Mae SLM Corporation (commonly known as Sallie Mae; originally the Student Loan Marketing Association) is a publicly traded U.S. corporation that provides consumer banking. Its nature has changed dramatically since it was set up in the early 1970s; i ...

for approximately $25 billion (USD), giving JC Flowers and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe 50.2 percent of the company. This deal fell through, however. In late 2007, JC Flowers was one of the many companies bidding for the troubled British Bank,

Northern Rock Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank in ...

. They pulled out of the bidding in December. On January 21, 2008, JC Flowers made an informal bid of £4bn for

Friends Provident Friends' Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Based in Bradford, Yorkshire, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century I ...

. A revised bid of £3.5 billion was rejected. On March 14, 2008, JC Flowers was reported to be in talks to buy troubled US investment bank

Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chas ...

. On April 16, 2008, JC Flowers issued an offer to buy 24.9% of the shares of Hypo Real Estate Group at a price of €22.50 per share. At the end of 2006, JC Flowers purchased a company called PanEuroLife in Luxembourg and started to build the NewPELGroup. In July 2010 JC Flowers announced its intention to purchase a stake in the UK's

Kent Reliance Building Society Kent Reliance is a banking services provider and trading name of OneSavings Bank plc, based in Kent, England. It was founded in 1898 as the Chatham & District Reliance Building Society, changing its name to the Kent Reliance Building Society in ...

and this deal was completed on 1 February 2011 with the formation of OneSavings Bank Plc. In December 2012 JC Flowers was reported to have submitted a non-binding first-round bid for the 316 branches being re-auctioned by

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...

. In July 2013, JC Flowers agreed to buy £450 million of loans belonging to struggling British bank

. In October 2016, JC Flowers aided the acquisition of retail stockbroker TD Direct Investing Europe by a smaller rival

Interactive Investor interactive investor Limited is a subscription-based online investment service in the United Kingdom, founded in 1995 by the entrepreneur Sherry Coutu. It provides financial information, as well as investment tools. It is the UK's biggest flat ...

to create the United Kingdom's second-biggest online fund supermarket. In May 2017, JC Flowers completed the acquisition of the insurance company UK General for an undisclosed sum.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jc Flowers Private equity firms of the United States Financial services companies established in 2001 Privately held companies based in New York (state) 2001 establishments in New York City