GTCR

GTCR LLC

Type	Private
Industry	Private Equity
Founded	1980
Founder	Stanley Golder, Carl Thoma, Bryan Cressey, Bruce Rauner
Headquarters	300 North LaSalle Chicago, Illinois, United States
Products	Leveraged buyout, Rollup
Total assets	$11 billion
Number of employees	80+
Website	www.gtcr.com

GTCR LLC is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, leveraged recapitalization, growth capital and rollup transactions. Since 1980, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies.^[1]

The firm principally invests in high-growth industries, including financial services & technology, healthcare, information services & technology, and growth business services.^[2]

The firm is based in Chicago and has more than 80 employees, including over 40 investment professionals.

History

GTCR logo in use prior to 1998 separation

The company was founded in 1980 as Golder Thoma & Co. by Stanley Golder and Carl Thoma. In the 1970s, Golder built the private equity program at First Chicago Corp.^[3] where he is noted primarily for backing Federal Express 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.^[4][5] Golder Thoma 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.

In 1984, after recruiting Bryan Cressey to join the firm from First Chicago, the firm's name was changed to Golder Thoma Cressey 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.^[6]

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), the $11 billion private equity firm, based in Chicago, 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 Phil Canfield, Collin Roche and David Donnini.^[7]
• Thoma Cressey, (Carl Thoma and Bryan Cressey) based in Chicago and San Francisco. 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 small healthcare focused private equity firm.^[8][9] 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.^[10]

Investment funds

GTCR invests through a series of private limited partnerships and its investors include a variety of pension funds (e.g., Washington State Investment Board,^[11] Pennsylvania State Employee's Retirement System^[12]) endowments and other institutional investors.

Following its separation from Thoma Cressey (discussed above), GTCR has raised six private equity funds:

• 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)^[13]
• 2014 - Fund XI ($3.85 billion)^[14]

External links

• GTCR (official website)

References

Private equity and venture capital
Basic investment types	Buyout Venture Mezzanine Growth Secondaries Equity co-investment
History	History of private equity and venture capital Early history of private equity Private equity in the 1980s Private equity in the 1990s Private equity in the 2000s
Terms and concepts	Buyout Financial sponsor Management buyout Divisional buyout Buy–sell agreement Leveraged recapitalization Dividend recapitalization Venture Angel investor Business incubator Post-money valuation Pre-money valuation Seed money Startup company Venture capital financing Venture debt Venture round Structure Private equity firms and funds Limited partnership Limited liability company Carried interest Management fee Publicly traded private equity Business Development Company Venture capital trust Private investment in public equity (PIPE) Pledge fund
Investors	Corporations Institutional investors Pension funds Insurance companies Fund of funds Endowments Foundations Investment banks Merchant banks Commercial banks High-net-worth individuals Family offices Sovereign wealth funds Crowdfunding
Related financial terms	AUM Cap table Capital call Capital commitment Capital structure Distribution waterfall EBITDA Envy ratio High-yield debt IPO IRR Leverage Liquidation preference M&A PME Taxation of private equity and hedge funds Undercapitalization Vintage year
Private equity and venture capital investors Private equity firms Venture capital firms Angel investors Portfolio companies

Largest private equity investment firms
3i Group AAC Capital Partners Advent International AlpInvest Partners American Capital Apax Partners Apollo Global Management Ares Management Bain Capital BC Partners Berkshire Partners The Blackstone Group Bridgepoint Capital Candover The Carlyle Group CCMP Capital Cerberus Capital Management Charterhouse Capital Partners Cinven Clayton, Dubilier & Rice CVC Capital Partners Doughty Hanson & Co EnCap Investments EQT Partners First Reserve Corporation Fortress Investment Group General Atlantic Goldman Sachs Capital Partners GTCR Hellman & Friedman H.I.G. Capital JRK Property Holdings KKR Trilantic Capital Partners Leonard Green & Partners Madison Dearborn Partners Nordic Capital Oak Investment Partners Oaktree Capital Management Onex Teachers' Private Capital Pacific Equity Partners PAI Partners Permira Providence Equity Partners Sentinel Capital Partners Silver Lake Partners Summit Partners Sun Capital Partners TA Associates Terra Firma Capital Partners Thomas H. Lee Partners TPG Capital Warburg Pincus Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Private equity Private equity firms Venture capital firms Portfolio companies