Marc J Leder

Early life and education

Leder was born in 1962 to a Jewish family and raised in the Long Island suburbs of New York City. In 1979, Leder graduated from John L. Miller Great Neck North High School and in 1983, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves as a member of the University of Pennsylvania Huntsman Program Advisory Board.

Career

In 1987, he accepted a position as an analyst at Lehman Brothers working his way up to Senior Vice president. In 1995, he left Lehman with fellow Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni and friend Rodger Krouse to found Sun Capital Partners, Inc. Leder originally served as Sun Capital Partners, Inc. managing director from May 1995 to September 2004, and currently serves as CO-CEO.

Sun Capital Partners

Sun Capital Partners, Inc. is a privately held investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, equity, debt, and other investments. Since its inception in 1995, Sun Capital has invested in more than 315 companies worldwide with combined sales in excess of $45 billion and has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, New York, and affiliates in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm, and Shenzhen. Sun Capital has over $9 billion of capital under management and often provides financing for the full purchase price at closing and then later raising long term debt financing. Sun Capital targets companies with up to $3 billion in sales but often completes transactions with businesses with sales in the range of $50 million and $500 million. Due to their high staffing levels and culture of decisiveness, they generally can close deals within 30 days compared to three to six months for their competitors.

Leder has been quoted by Mergers & Acquisitions about his outlook on the financial industry and how Sun Capital Partners, Inc. conducts business as: "Our niche is to find market leaders that are not performing well. In a good economy, there aren't as many, but a slow economy is ideal for us. Between the U.S., Europe and Japan, those nations are going to have slow to no growth. Our business model is typically taking a company whose EBITDA margins are well below where they should be and—without growing sales—getting them back to where profitability should be."

When asked how the economy affects Sun Capital Partners, Inc.'s business by Mergers & Acquisitions, Leder has been quoted as stating: "There are cyclical industries that may be facing a downturn [in an improving economy]. You've got companies with liquidity issues, or those that have done a poor job consolidating facilities. Maybe they stumble when it comes to upgrading their IT system, or they may do a poorly conceived add-on or acquisition. There are a lot of reasons why a company, although a good business, could be distressed and meet our criteria [for purchase]."

Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils

Leder is a member of the investment group that won a $280 million bid for the purchase of the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers. The other members of the investment group are: Joshua Harris of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, portfolio manager Art Wrubel, and former NBA agent and Sacramento Kings executive Jason Levien, as well as former Vail Resorts CEO Adam Aron, Martin J. Geller, David B. Heller, Travis Hennings, James Lassiter, David S. Blitzer, Michael Rubin, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, and Indonesian businessmen Handy Soetedjo & Erick Thohir. Comcast-Spectacor began talks with the investment group in the summer of 2011. The deal was announced on July 13, 2011. The NBA formally approved the deal on October 13. On August 15, 2013 it was announced that a group let by Harris and partner David Blitzer purchased a majority stake in the New Jersey Devils of the NHL, which includes the rights to operate the Prudential Center arena in Newark, New Jersey. The transaction was reportedly for over $320 million. Leder, as minority owner, serves on the board of the Philadelphia 76ers and the NJ Devils.

Philanthropy and accolades

The Sun Capital Partners Foundation has partnered with many local charities, among which is Boca Helping Hands, a non-profit organization based in South Florida that works to fight poverty and hunger in the area, and has donated more than $165,000 to the non-profit organization. The Foundation has also donated over $100,000 to Operation Homefront Florida, an organization that works to provide financial assistance to military service members and their families. The Foundation also hosts a half marathon and 5k that raises money for the Boca Raton Police Athletic League and Boca Raton Firefighters. Overall, the Sun Capital Partners Foundation has donated to over 275 charities. Leder and his business partner each personally donated $125,000 to a PAC supporting Romney. He is a member of the International Council Board of the Museum Berggruen in Berlin. He has recently been named director of the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation.

Leder was an honoree at the Art for Life 2011 to honor the creative energy of New York City youth and professional accomplishments and philanthropic efforts of individuals in the community. The Marc J. Leder Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit corporation based in Boca Raton, that partially funds the Sun Capital Partners Foundation as well as makes grants to institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania. Leder received the 2003 Buyout Magazine Pros of the Years by Thomson Venture Economics, a Thomson Financial company and publisher of Buyouts Newsletter and received a leadership award by the M&A Advisor in 2013.

Mitt Romney presidential campaign controversy

On September 17, 2012, Mother Jones posted a video of Mitt Romney speaking at a fundraiser held at Leder's house on May 17, 2012. The video shows Mitt Romney speaking frankly about the 47% of Americans who, according to Romney, "pay no income tax" and are "dependent upon government". He said that these people "believe the government has a responsibility to care for them.... My job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 per cent in the center that are independents." In the video, Romney also stated that there is no point in seeking an Israeli–Palestinian peace accord because the Palestinians have "no interest whatsoever in establishing peace" and that "There's just no way" a two-state solution is feasible. Leder responded in a press release "I hosted a fundraiser for an old friend in May. I believe all Americans should have the opportunity to succeed, to improve their lives, and to build even better lives for their children. I have supported people from both political parties who share this view and make it a priority, even though their ideas on how to achieve it may differ."

Personal life

In 1987, Leder married Lisa J. Weisbein; they have three children. They divorced in 2009. In January 2012 Leder had another daughter with his girlfriend at the time.