Platinum Equity has held a final close of Platinum Equity Capital Partners IV, a $6.5 billion buyout fund. According to Platinum, the new fund was heavily oversubscribed.
Platinum Equity invests both equity and debt in a range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, and telecommunications. The firm specializes in complex carve-outs from Fortune 500 companies; public to private transitions; and specialty acquisitions from a wide variety of private sellers. Platinum has completed nearly 185 acquisitions since its founding in 1995 and is based in Beverly Hills with additional offices in New York and London (www.platinumequity.com).
“We are grateful to investors for believing in Platinum, supporting our growth and trusting us to invest their money wisely,” said Tom Gores, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Platinum. “Our job now is to continue earning that trust by deploying this capital effectively. We have the capacity, the capability and the capital necessary to handle transactions of any size and complexity anywhere in the world.”
Platinum Equity, founded by Mr. Gores in 1995, funded its initial investments with founders’ capital. The firm raised its first private equity fund in 2004, with $700 million in capital commitments. That was followed by Fund II with $2.75 billion in 2007, Fund III with $3.75 billion in 2012, and now Fund IV with $6.5 billion. Each of the firm’s previous funds has been a top performer in its respective vintage year, and Platinum was ranked among the top five performing private equity firms in the world for 2016 in a January 2017 study by HEC Paris Business School and Dow Jones (Platinum ranked fifth behind Waterland Private Equity, Vista Equity Partners, CD&R, and Altor).
Mark Barnhill, a Partner at Platinum Equity that led the capital raise, said Fund IV generated high demand from institutional investors around the world and more than 200 limited partners from 28 countries invested in the fund. “Investors in this cycle were very focused on operations value-add and the ability to deliver downside protection alongside great returns,” said Mr. Barnhill. “Our capabilities and track record matched perfectly with that demand.”
“As much as we’ve grown, we have maintained our investing philosophy surrounded by great people who respect execution,” Mr. Gores said. “Times may change and situations may change, but our belief system and approach will remain the same. We will maintain, as we always have, our core investing and operating principles going forward.”
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (www.stblaw.com) was Platinum’s fund counsel and legal adviser for this fund raise.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | March 13, 2017
