Freeman Spogli & Co. is a

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...

dedicated to investing with management in middle market companies in the

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

and distribution sectors through

leveraged buyouts A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money ( leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loa ...

and recapitalizations. The firm invests in the United States.

History

Freeman Spogli, originally known as Riordan, Freeman & Spogli, was founded in 1983 by

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is an American investment banker, businessman, lawyer, and former Republican politician who was the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. Born in New York City and raised in New Rochelle, New Y ...

Bradford M. Freeman Bradford M. "Brad" Freeman is an American businessman and conservative political fundraiser. Career Freeman was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota, and attended Stanford University on a football scholarship. He received an MBA from Harvard B ...

, and Ronald P. Spogli. Co-founder

, who would later go on to serve as

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is term limit, limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of Califo ...

, had been an attorney and had made substantial personal investments in technology companies. After joining the firm, Riordan focused primarily on

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

investments in computer, medical, and semiconductor companies. Prior to co-founding Freeman Spogli, Bradford Freeman and Ronald P. Spogli had been Managing Directors in the Corporate Finance Department at

Dean Witter Reynolds Dean Witter Reynolds was an American stock brokerage and securities firm catering to a variety of clients. Prior to the company's acquisition, it was among the largest firms in the securities industry with over 9,000 account executives (ranking ...

. The firm made its name in the 1980s through a series of

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...

transactions. Throughout the 1980s, Riordan, Freeman & Spogli also executed

s of several supermarket retailers including Bayless Southwest (

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

), Boys Markets (

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

), P&C Foods (Syracuse, NY),

Piggly Wiggly Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable f ...

(various Southern states), and

Tops Markets Tops Friendly Markets is an American supermarket chain based in Amherst, New York, that operates stores in Upstate New York, Vermont, and Northern Pennsylvania. The chain operates full-scale supermarkets. Tops is a subsidiary of Northeast Groc ...

(

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

). Riordan separated from the other two partners in 1988 when they decided to specialize in larger

s of more established companies. Riordan relinquished his general partner position in the firm to form a

firm called

Riordan, Lewis & Haden RLH Equity Partners is a private equity firm based in Los Angeles that focuses on making investments in growing businesses. Sectors of particular investment interest to the firm include business services, healthcare, and government services. H ...

with J. Christopher Lewis and former

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

quarterback

Pat Haden Patrick Capper Haden (born January 23, 1953) is the former athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in ...

. Following Riordan's departure, the firm was renamed Freeman Spogli & Co.

Investments

Among the firm's historical investments are the following: * A.J. Bayless Markets *

Advance Auto Parts Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (Advance) is an American automotive aftermarket parts provider. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, it serves both professional installer and do it yourself (DIY) customers. As of July 13, 2019, Advance operated ...

* Batteries Plus Bulbs *Boot Barn * CB Richard Ellis *

El Pollo Loco El Pollo Loco (Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken") is the name of two independent restaurant chains that specialize in Mexican-style grilled chicken. Both were founded by Juan Francisco Ochoa. He established the first El Pollo Loco restaurant in Gu ...

* First WatchJohn Hielsche
Firm buys First Watch restaurant chain
December 23, 2011 Tampa Herald Tribune *

HHGregg H. H. Gregg, Inc. (stylized as hhgregg or HHgregg on their website) is an American online retailer and former retail chain of consumer electronics and home appliances in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast United States, that operated stores in ...

* Micro Warehouse * NEW Asurion *

The Paradies Shops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

* P&C Foods *

PETCO Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is an American pet retailer with corporate offices in San Diego and San Antonio. Petco sells pet food, products, and services, as well as certain types of live small animals. Founded in 1965 as a mail-ord ...

* Savers * Smile Brands * Sur La Table *

* Winebow

References

Notes

* Taub, Daniel.
Riordan made his fortune backing start-up ventures
" ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', June 30, 1997 * Zwiebach, Elloitt "The LBO maker (leveraged buyouts, Riordan Freeman & Spogli merchant bank)", Supermarket News, July 1987

External links

Freeman Spogli & Co.
(company website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman Spogli and Co. Financial services companies established in 1983 Private equity firms of the United States

History

Investments

See also

References

Notes

External links