Freeman Spogli & Co. is an American

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

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 use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

and distribution sectors through

leveraged buyouts A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money ( leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of the acquired company ...

and recapitalizations. The firm is a private enterprise and primarily invests in its domestic American market.

History

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

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (May 1, 1930 – April 19, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th ...

, Bradford M. Freeman, and

Ronald P. Spogli Ronald P. Spogli (born 1948) is an American venture capitalist and politician. He is the former United States Ambassador to Italy and United States Ambassador to San Marino, to San Marino. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 30, 2005, afte ...

. Co-founder

, who would later go on to serve as

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially Non-partisan democracy, nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, ...

, 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 (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

investments in computer, medical, and semiconductor companies. Prior to co-founding Freeman Spogli, Bradford Freeman and

had been Managing Directors in the Corporate Finance Department at

Dean Witter Reynolds Dean Witter Reynolds was an American Brokerage firm, 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 execu ...

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

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...

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

s of several supermarket retailers including Bayless Southwest ( Phoenix), Boys Markets (

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

), 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 ...

(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 Gr ...

(

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

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

). 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 with J. Christopher Lewis and former

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

quarterback

Pat Haden Patrick Capper Haden (born January 23, 1953) is an American former professional football player and college administrator. He was the athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. ...

. 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. is an American automotive aftermarket parts provider. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, it serves professional installer and do it yourself (DIY) customers. Company History In April 1932, Arthur Taubman purch ...

Batteries Plus Bulbs Batteries Plus stylized as Batteries+ (formerly Batteries Plus Bulbs, stylized as Batteries+Bulbs) is an American retail chain that specializes in batteries, light bulbs, and device repair. Since its founding 1988, the company has grown to 700+ r ...

Boot Barn Boot Barn is an American retailer that specializes in Western wear, cowboy boots, workwear, home decor, and other outdoor recreation merchandise. The chain was founded by Ken Meany in 1978. History Boot Barn was founded by Ken Meany in 1978, ...

CB Richard Ellis CBRE Group, Inc. (an initialism of Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm with corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas and global financial headquarters at Lever House in Midtown Manh ...

El Pollo Loco El Pollo Loco (Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken") is the name of three independent restaurant chains that specialize in Mexican-style grilled chicken. The Mexican and American companies were founded by Juan Francisco Ochoa while the Filipino comp ...

* First WatchJohn Hielsche
Firm buys First Watch restaurant chain
December 23, 2011 Tampa Herald Tribune * HHGregg * Micro Warehouse * NEW Asurion * The Paradies Shops * P&C Foods *

PETCO Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is an American Pet store, 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 ...

* 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