Weston Presidio is an American
private equity firm focused on
growth capital investments in late-stage companies across a range of industries with a specific focus on the consumer products, business services, industrial, media, publishing, healthcare and technology sectors.
The firm, which is based in
Boston, Massachusetts, has offices in
San Francisco and
Menlo Park, California.
Weston Presidio was founded in 1991 by Michael Cronin, who had previously run the Boston office of Security Pacific Venture Capital Group, and Michael Lazarus who had previously been managing director of the Private Placement Department of
Montgomery Securities
Montgomery Securities was an investment bank based in San Francisco, California, that specialized in high technology and health care sectors. The firm was founded in 1978 by Thom Weisel.
The bank was acquired by NationsBank Corporation on Jun ...
. The firm has raised approximately $3.21 billion since inception across five funds. Weston Presidio's fifth fund was raised in 2005 with approximately $1 billion of investor commitments and has been focused primarily on investments in more mature companies.
Through the years, Weston Presidio has shifted its focus from earlier stage venture capital to investments in more mature companies and occasionally through
leveraged recapitalization
In corporate finance, a leveraged recapitalization is a change of the company's capital structure, usually substitution of debt for equity.
Overview
Such recapitalizations are executed via issuing bonds to raise money and using the proceeds to bu ...
s and
leveraged buyouts.
Among Weston Presidio's most notable investments are: Associated Materials,
Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (''Azul Brazilian Airlines''; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian carrier based in Barueri, a suburb of São Paulo. The company's business model is to stimulate demand by providing frequent and affordable air serv ...
,
BlueArc
Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) was a provider of modular mid-range and high-end computer data storage systems, software and services. Its operations are now a part of Hitachi Vantara.
It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. and part of t ...
,
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
,
Casella Waste Systems,
Cybertrust
CyberTrust was a security services company formed in Virginia in November 2004 from the merger of TruSecure and Betrusted. Betrusted previously acquired GTE Cybertrust. Cybertrust acquired a large stake in Ubizen, a European security services firm ...
,
DTS Digital Theater Systems,
Evenflo,
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer of instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, however it is best known for its ...
,
Learning Curve Brands,
JetBlue Airways,
Jimmy John's,
Lion Brewery, Inc.
Lion Brewery, Inc, is the operator of the Lion Brewery, located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1905. A "heritage brewery", it is one of only 10 United States pre-Prohibition breweries that has independently and continuously op ...
, MacDermid,
MapQuest,
Morris Air,
Nebraska Book Company
Nebraska Book Company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nebraska Book Holdings, Inc. (NBH), which also includes PrismRBS, Campus Store Design, and Campus Advisory Services. NBC was Founded in 1915 with a single college store near the University o ...
,
NextMedia Group,
Papyrus,
Party City
Party City Holdco Inc. is an American publicly traded retail chain of party stores founded in 1986 by Steve Mandell in East Hanover, New Jersey. Party City’s parent organization is Party City Holdings Inc. Based in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, the compa ...
(aka Amscan),
Restoration Hardware,
Robb Report,
Magazines for the Superrich Are No Longer Up for Sale
New York Times, October 11, 2006 Scene7, Thomas Weisel Partners
Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc., also known as TWP or Weisel, is a U.S. growth focused investment banking firm headquartered in San Francisco, California.
The firm was launched in January 1999 by Thom Weisel and other personnel from the form ...
, Tweeter Home Entertainment and Wild Oats Markets
Wild Oats Marketplace ( registered as Wild Oats Marketing, LLC) is a producer of natural and organic food distributed through partnerships in the United States.
Founded in 1987 in Boulder, Colorado, it was originally a chain of natural foo ...
.
References
External links
Weston Presidio
(company website)
Weston Presidio
Bloomberg Profile
{{private equity firms
Financial services companies established in 1991
Private equity firms of the United States