Industry Private Equity Headquarters San Francisco Number of employees 20 Total assets 3 billion USD | Website www.gencap.com Founded 1988 Type of business Private | |
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Founder Angus MacNaughton, Ross Turner, Richard D. Paterson, John A. West Key people Jean-Pierre L. Conte (Chairman, CEO) Products Leveraged buyout, Growth capital Profiles | ||
Genstar Capital is a private equity firm focusing on leveraged buyout transactions in middle-market companies in the United States. Genstar invests primarily in growth industries including life sciences, healthcare services, industrial technology, software and business services.
Based in San Francisco, Genstar has raised approximately $3 billion of committed capital across five investment funds since inception in 1988.
History
The firm's origins date back to Genstar Corporation, whose senior executives founded Genstar Capital in 1988. Genstar was a Canadian building-materials and financial-services company that invested $1.9 billion through 28 acquisitions from 1976 to 1986. Additionally, Genstar sold 40 businesses and entered into 75 joint ventures during this period. Genstar, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was sold to Imasco, Ltd in 1986, at which point Genstar owned more than 100 businesses around the world. Following the sale of Genstar, a number of the company's executives formed a new investment partnership while, under Imasco's ownership, Genstar was broken up and divested through the late 1980s.
In March 1989, the newly independent firm raised a $100 million pool of capital to fund leveraged buyout transactions. Among the founders of what was then known as Genstar Capital Corp. (GCC) were Angus MacNaughton and Ross Turner, former chief executive officers of Genstar Corp., as well as Richard D. Paterson, previously senior vice president and chief financial officer, and John A. West, previously executive vice president of Genstar.
Through the mid-1990s, Genstar focused primarily on investments in industrial manufacturing companies. In 1995, current CEO J-P Conte joined the firm and through the second half of the 1990s, Genstar focused on investments in a group of growth sectors.
In October 2004, Genstar closed its fourth fund with commitments totalling $475 million, representing a significant step up from its $200 million third fund, raised in 2001. In June 2007, the firm held the final closing for Genstar Capital Partners V, LP for a total of $1.6 billion, again representing a significant increase in capital commitments.