GTCR LLC is a

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-based

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 ...

firm focused on

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 loa ...

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 ...

growth capital Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new mar ...

and

rollup A rollup (also "roll-up" or "roll up") is a process used by investors (commonly private equity firms) where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies ...

transactions. The firm principally invests in high-growth industries, including financial services & technology, healthcare, information services & technology, and growth business services. Since 1980, GTCR has reportedly invested more than $15 billion in over 200 companies."About GTCR"
, company webpage As of 2021, the firm has more than 80 employees, including over 40 investment professionals.

History

The company was founded in 1980 as Golder Thoma & Co. by Stanley Golder, Carl Thoma, and Bryan Cressey. In the 1970s, Golder built the private equity program at First Chicago Corp. where he is noted primarily for backing

Federal Express FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name ...

and for efforts as chairman of the National Venture Capital Association and the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies to change federal laws allowing pensions to invest in private equity. Golder Thoma & Cressey received much of its initial funding from William M. Blair and upon leaving First Chicago, Golder was replaced by John A. Canning, Jr. who would go on to found rival Chicago private equity firm Madison Dearborn. The firm became Golder Thoma & Cressey in 1984, and with the promotion of Bruce Rauner to partner the firm would come to be known as Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner, Inc. (GTCR), although it would still often be referred to as Golder Thoma.Stanley C. Golder
, a donor profile at the

UIUC The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

website In 1998, disagreements between the senior partners led Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner, Inc. split into two private equity firms. Both firms continue to invest primarily through consolidations of specific industries, referred to as roll-ups: *GTCR Golder Rauner, ( Stanley Golder and

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chai ...

), the private equity firm, based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, now known as GTCR. GTCR founder Stanley Golder died in 2000 and lead partner Bruce Rauner retired in 2012. Today the firm is led by several senior partners, including Collin Roche, Dean Mihas, Craig Bondy and David Donnini.Rauner makes it official, retires from GTCR
an article in Crain's Chicago Business dated October 19, 2012 * Thoma Cressey, (Carl Thoma and Bryan Cressey) based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. Thoma Cressey would be renamed Thoma Cressey Bravo to reflect the growing role of partner Orlando Bravo. In 2008, Bryan Cressey left Thoma Cressey Bravo with several investment professionals to form Cressey & Co. a healthcare-focused private equity firm. Thoma Cressey Bravo became Thoma Bravo after Cressey’s departure, led by managing partners Carl Thoma, Orlando Bravo, Lee Mitchell and Scott Crabill. The firm closed its 9th fund in March 2009 with $822.5 million.

Investment funds

GTCR invests through a series of private limited partnerships and its investors include a variety of

pension funds A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income. Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and priva ...

(e.g., Washington State Investment Board, Pennsylvania State Employee's Retirement System) endowments and other

institutional investors An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-link ...

. Following its separation from Thoma Cressey (discussed above), GTCR has raised seven

private equity fund A private equity fund (abbreviated as PE fund) is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity ...

s totaling $20 billion in limited partner commitments: * 1998 - Fund VI, ($870 million) * 2000 - Fund VII ($2.0 billion) * 2003 - Fund VIII ($1.8 billion) * 2006 - Fund IX ($2.75 billion) * 2011 - Fund X ($3.25 billion) * 2014 - Fund XI ($3.85 billion) *2017 - Fund XII ($5.25 billion) *2020 - Fund XIII ($7.5 billion)

External links

GTCR
(official website)

References

{{Private equity and venture capital Financial services companies established in 1980 Private equity firms of the United States Companies based in Chicago American companies established in 1980