J.C. Flowers & Co. is an American
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
investment firm, focused on investments in the
financial services sector. The firm, founded in 2001, is based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and run by billionaire
J. Christopher Flowers
James Christopher Flowers is an American private equity investor and investment manager focused on the financial services industry. He is a Managing Director and CEO of J.C. Flowers & Co., and a member of the firm's Management Committee.
Early l ...
, a former
Goldman Sachs partner. As of 2017, the firm had invested more than $15 billion in capital.
JC Flowers manages two
private equity funds, J.C. Flowers I LP, closed in 2002 with $900 million of committed capital, and J.C. Flowers II LP, closed in 2006 with $7.0 billion of committed capital. Both funds are focused exclusively on the
financial services sector. JC Flowers in Europe is led by its managing director,
David Morgan.
Investments
JC Flowers' most notable investments include such
financial services companies as:
* Chi-X Australia along with Chi-X Japan and Chi-Tech Hong Kong
* Enstar Group
*
Shinsei Bank
is a leading diversified Japanese financial institution that provides a full range of financial products and services to both institutional and individual customers. It is owned by SBI Group and headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo.
History
SBI Shinse ...
*
NIBC Bank N.V.
*
Hypo Real Estate Group (Germany) (formerly 24.9%)
*
First Bank (Romania) (76.1%)
*
HSH Nordbank (Germany) (26.6%)
*
Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller
Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller (formerly Fox-Pitt, Kelton or FPK) was an investment bank focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory services, private placements of debt and equity as well as equity research. FPK specialised in transacti ...
* Equita Sim (Italy) (50,01%)
* Eurovita (Italy) (78,19%)
*
MF Global
MF Global, formerly known as Man Financial, was a major global financial derivatives broker, or commodities brokerage firm that went bankrupt in 2011. MF Global provided exchange-traded derivatives, such as futures and options as well as over- ...
(US) (6.8%)
* One Savings Bank (UK) - Specialist Mortgage Lender
Other notable activity
JC Flowers has also been active in a number of high-profile contemplated transactions that did not occur. In mid-2007, an investor group led by JC Flowers signed an agreement to purchase
Sallie Mae for approximately $25 billion (USD), giving JC Flowers and
Friedman Fleischer & Lowe
FFL Partners, LLC, previously known as Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, is an American private equity firm, founded in 1997 by Tully Friedman, Spencer Fleischer, David Lowe, and Christopher Masto. The firm makes investments primarily through leveraged ...
50.2 percent of the company. This deal fell through, however. In late 2007, JC Flowers was one of the many companies bidding for the troubled British Bank,
Northern Rock
Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank i ...
. They pulled out of the bidding in December.
On January 21, 2008, JC Flowers made an informal bid of £4bn for
Friends Provident
Friends’ Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Based in Bradford, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century Insurance ...
. A revised bid of £3.5 billion was rejected. On March 14, 2008, JC Flowers was reported to be in talks to buy troubled US investment bank
Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York-based global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The comp ...
. On April 16, 2008, JC Flowers issued an offer to buy 24.9% of the shares of Hypo Real Estate Group at a price of €22.50 per share. At the end of 2006, JC Flowers purchased a company called PanEuroLife in Luxembourg and started to build the NewPELGroup.
In July 2010 JC Flowers announced its intention to purchase a stake in the UK's
Kent Reliance Building Society
Kent Reliance is a banking services provider and trading name of OneSavings Bank plc, based in Kent, England. It was founded in 1898 as the Chatham & District Reliance Building Society, changing its name to the Kent Reliance Building Society in ...
and this deal was completed on 1 February 2011 with the formation of
OneSavings Bank Plc.
In December 2012 JC Flowers was reported to have submitted a non-binding first-round bid for the 316 branches being re-auctioned by
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
. In July 2013, JC Flowers agreed to buy £450 million of loans belonging to struggling British bank
Northern Rock
Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank i ...
.
In October 2016, JC Flowers aided the acquisition of retail stockbroker
TD Direct Investing Europe by a smaller rival
Interactive Investor
interactive investor is a subscription-based online investment service in the United Kingdom, founded in 1995. It provides financial information, as well as investment tools. It is the UK's biggest flat-fee investment platform, with () £59 bill ...
to create the United Kingdom's second-biggest online fund supermarket.
In May 2017, JC Flowers completed the acquisition of the insurance company UK General for an undisclosed sum.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jc Flowers
Private equity firms of the United States
Financial services companies established in 2001
Privately held companies based in New York (state)
2001 establishments in New York City