Platinum Equity has held a final close of Platinum Equity Capital Partners V LP with $10 billion in total capital commitments. The new fund, which had a target of $8 billion and a hard cap of $10 billion, was oversubscribed.
Platinum Equity was founded by CEO Tom Gores in 1995 and was ranked in February 2019 as the eighth-best performing private equity firm in the world by HEC Paris Business School and Dow Jones.
“We are very grateful for the support of our investors worldwide who have entrusted us with their capital and helped extend our global investment reach,” said Mr. Gores “We have great momentum, with a well-oiled investment machine built on discipline, urgency and a relentless focus on execution, and fueled by the capital resources to pursue complex transactions anywhere in the world.”
More than 250 limited partners from 30 countries invested in Fund V. “Our investment brand is strong and getting stronger, and we have relationships today with some of the largest and most active institutional investors in the world,” said Mark Barnhill, a partner at Platinum that led the capital raise. “We have earned their trust through our performance and track record.”
The firm’s earlier funds include Platinum Equity Capital Partners IV LP, a $6.5 billion buyout fund that closed in 2016 and Platinum Equity Small Cap Fund LP, a $1.5 billion buyout fund that closed in 2018 to focus on investment opportunities in the lower middle market. The firm, which funded its initial investments with founder’s capital, has raised more than $25 billion from institutional investors since raising its first fund in 2004.
Platinum invests in a range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, and telecommunications. The Beverly Hills-based firm specializes in complex carve-outs from Fortune 500 companies; public to private transitions; and specialty acquisitions from a variety of private sellers. Since its founding in 1995, Platinum has completed more than 250 acquisitions.
In addition to raising its new fund, Platinum has been very active on the portfolio company front. In December, it announced a $5.3 billion divestiture transaction that will take portfolio company Vertiv public. Vertiv is a Columbus, Ohio-based provider of backup power and other safety systems to data centers and communication networks. The company has approximately $4.3 billion in annual revenue. Platinum acquired Vertiv (then the network power business of Emerson Electric) for $4 billion in December 2016. In November, Platinum entered into exclusive negotiations with Qualium Investissement to acquire Biscuit International, a Paris-headquartered private label biscuit maker; and in October, Platinum announced the $2.7 billion acquisition of publicly traded Cision (NYSE: CISN), a Chicago-based provider of software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals.
“Platinum’s investor base is diverse but has certain common threads, including an emphasis on finding managers with deep operational capabilities, differentiated strategies and a demonstrated track record across multiple economic cycles,” concluded Mr. Gores.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was the legal adviser to Platinum for this fundraise.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | January 8, 2020