Industry Private Equity Website [1] Headquarters United States of America Total assets 5.7 billion USD | Products Leveraged buyout Founded 1991 Type of business Private | |
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Key people Michael Psaros, David Shapiro | ||
KPS Capital Partners is an American investment company that manages KPS Special Situation Funds that in turn controls private equity limited funds. As of the end of 2014 over $5.7 billion of assets were managed. The firm is not a hedge fund, instead it tries to make money by making controlling investments in companies that experience a period of transition or need to make changes. KPS indicates that has been able to acquire non-core or divested assets from large corporations and turn them around into profitable entities that could be sold. KPS controlled companies employ more than 47,000 people in 26 countries.
The company has its headquarter in New York City. It was founded in 1991 by Eugene Keilin, Michael Psaros and David Shapiro, hence the name.
The Financial Times noted that while private equity firms have often a bad reputation for stripping assets and slashing jobs when buying distressed companies, KPS has established a reputation for constructive relationships with the workforce and their unions. In 2009 Psaros estimated that he had saved about 20,000 jobs. Unions also have appreciated that KPS uses little or no debt in its deals and have called in KPS to save companies.
The following (incomplete) list includes major companies that are or had been controlled by KPS: