Platinum Equity has held the final close of its latest global buyout fund, Platinum Equity Capital Partners V, with USD10 billion in total capital commitments.“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,” says Tom Gores, founder, chairman and CEO of Platinum Equity.
“We have great momentum, with a well-oiled investment machine built on discipline, urgency and a relentless focus on execution, and fuelled by the capital resources to pursue complex transactions anywhere in the world,” says Gores.
The fund, which had a target of USD8 billion and a hard cap of USD10 billion, was oversubscribed. It is Platinum Equity’s flagship private equity fund, focused on complex transactions utilising Platinum Equity’s highly specialised M&A&O approach.
Mark Barnhill, the Platinum Equity partner responsible for leading the capital raise, said Fund V generated high demand from a diverse range of institutional investors around the world. More than 250 subscribers from 30 countries invested in the fund.
“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,” says Barnhill. “We have earned their trust through our performance and track record.
“The 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.”
Platinum Equity, founded by Gores in 1995, was ranked among the top 10 performing private equity firms in the world for 2018 in a recent study by HEC Paris Business School and Dow Jones.
The firm, which funded its initial investments with founder’s capital, has raised more than USD25 billion from institutional investors since launching its funds business a decade-and-a-half ago.
Platinum Equity raised its first private equity fund in 2004 with USD700 million in capital commitments. That was followed by Fund II with USD2.75 billion in 2007, Fund III with USD3.75 billion in 2012, Fund IV with USD6.5 billion in 2016 and now Fund V with USD10 billion. The firm also manages a USD1.5 billion Small Cap Fund pursuing similar private equity investments in the lower middle market.
Platinum Equity’s investment portfolio includes a broad spectrum of portfolio companies and industries. The firm specialises in complex carve-outs from Fortune 500 companies; public to private transitions; and specialty acquisitions from a wide variety of private sellers.
Platinum Equity has been active recently on both the buy and sell side. In December the firm announced a USD5.3 billion divestiture transaction that will take portfolio company Vertiv public. In October, Platinum Equity announced the USD2.74 billion acquisition of Cision Ltd, a leading global provider of software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals.
Gores says Fund V will focus on more of the same, as Platinum Equity continues on a growth trajectory that includes a diversified investment product offering and operating experience on all seven continents.
“We have the same fundamental investment strategy, the same sense of urgency and the same disciplined approach to investing that the firm was founded on,” says Gores.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is Platinum Equity’s fund counsel and legal adviser for Fund V.
