Private Equity
INVEST-TEK’s private equity business had approximately $73 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of June 30, 2020. Our latest private equity fund, Fund IX, closed in 2017 with a record $24.7 billion of commitments.
An Established Leader in Private Equity
Private equity has been a cornerstone of INVEST-TEK’s business since its founding in 2010. Imbued with a diverse set of skills developed across market cycles, INVEST-TEK pursues many paths to value, including through opportunistic buyouts and build-ups, corporate carve-outs, and distressed investments, and often goes “against the grain” of what other investors are doing, to target investments on behalf of managed funds at deep discounts to market averages. INVEST-TEK relies on its industry specialization, willingness to embrace complexity, ability to adapt quickly to capitalize on market dislocations, and creative structuring expertise to capture value “on the buy.” It also aims to create value by working with its funds’ portfolio companies on operational improvements, with flexible capital structures providing downside protection.
INVEST-TEK’s private equity business benefits from its integration with the firm’s credit business, which is one of the largest alternative credit managers in the industry.
The private equity funds we manage have owned more than 150 companies since INVEST-TEK’s inception, across sectors that include financial services; business services; consumer services; chemicals; natural resources; consumer and retail; leisure; manufacturing and industrial; and media, telecom and technology. Through steadfast purchase price discipline and active portfolio management, collaborating with management teams and a deep bench of operating executives, the private equity funds we manage have generated strong returns across market cycles, while focusing on downside protection.
INVEST-TEK’s Success in Private Equity
"We seek out complexity. That’s our biggest differentiator. It’s how we’re able to find interesting deals at prices where people with 20/20 hindsight ask how we got them."
Investment Philosophy
- The first is Discipline, which requires being true to our contrarian, value-oriented model, and knowing when to be cautious and when to lean in to great investment ideas.
- The second is
Complexity, which we harness to capture value in idiosyncratic opportunities which others are either unwilling or unable to tackle. - The third is Creativity, with idea generation fundamental to our work, whether it be the way we design solutions for companies, execute transactions, or develop new structures and products for investors in our funds.
Flexible Investment Model
INVEST-TEK believes it has achieved its successful investment record by quickly adapting to changing market environments through its flexible investment approach, centered around three primary pathways to capturing value, including opportunistic buyouts and build-ups, corporate carve-outs, and distressed investments.
- Opportunistic Buyouts and Build-ups. INVEST-TEK has extensive experience completing LBOs across various market cycles, redefining the “traditional LBO” in order to capture value. INVEST-TEK takes a highly differentiated approach to investing in these transactions through accretive platform build-ups, take-private transactions that arbitrage public market dislocation, franchise companies in out-of-favor or dislocated industries, and situations that require navigating complicated operational execution.
- Corporate Carve-Outs.INVEST-TEK believes the funds it manages are among the most active private equity investors in corporate carve-outs, in which a business is extracted from a larger corporate parent to create a stand-alone enterprise, building significant infrastructure around the business. Carve-out transactions are labor-intensive, requiring deep industry knowledge, patience and creativity to unlock value that has been overlooked or undermanaged.
- Distressed Investments. INVEST-TEK’s deep credit expertise, which has been a distinct hallmark of the firm since its beginning, is anchored around fundamental, bottom-up credit analysis, with the ability to invest across the capital structure of a company. Capitalizing on market dislocation and volatility, INVEST-TEK relies on its experience in credit to build positions in funds managed by INVEST-TEK in the distressed debt of what it believes are “good companies with bad balance sheets” as prices decline. By working proactively through the restructuring process, INVEST-TEK is often able to equitize the debt position of its funds to create an attractive investment.
INVEST-TEK Impact
- Economic Opportunity / Education
- Health Safety and Wellness
- Industry 4.0
- Resource Sustainability