Clearlake Capital

Last updated

Clearlake Capital Group, L.P.
Company type Private
Industry Private equity
Founded2006;19 years ago (2006)
Founders
Headquarters233 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, California U.S.
AUM US$90 billion (2025)
Number of employees
250 (2025)
Subsidiaries WhiteStar Asset Management
Website clearlake.com
Footnotes /references
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a private equity firm founded in 2006 that focuses on the technology, industrial and consumer sectors. [2] [3] [4] [6] The firm has more than $90 billion of assets under management and is headquartered in Santa Monica with affiliates in Dallas, London, Dublin, Luxembourg, Abu Dhabi, New York and Singapore. [7] [8] [9] In 2022, the firm was a part of an investor consortium named BlueCo that purchased Chelsea. [3] [6] [10]

Contents

In 2025, Clearlake Capital was ranked 12th in Private Equity International 's PEI 300 ranking of the largest private equity firms in the world. [11]

Background

Clearlake Capital was founded in 2006 by Steven Chang, Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano. [2] [3] [4] [6] The strategy was to shift between buyouts and distressed securities depending on economic conditions. [3] This allowed the firm to take advantage of the 2008 financial crisis to acquire distressed securities and then sell them for a profit after recovery. [3]

In 2015, Chang left the firm leaving Eghbali and Feliciano as the remaining managing partners. [2] [12]

In May 2018, Clearlake sold a minority stake of up to 20% of its shares to Dyal Capital, Petershill Partners and Landmark Partners. [13] [14] The purpose of the sale was to fund the creation of a credit unit. [14]

In June 2020, Clearlake acquired a majority interest in WhiteStar Asset Management from Pine Brook Road Partners. [3] [15] WhiteStar Asset Management serves as the credit platform of Clearlake. [3] [15]

In recent years Clearlake has become the biggest user of "General partner-led Private-equity secondary markets". [3] It is a technique where Clearlake will find another private equity firm to buy a large portion of one of its existing investments and then offer investors a chance to sell at a new valuation or roll their stake into a new fund that will hold the investment for a few more years. [3] It discovered this technique during the COVID-19 pandemic when it sold shares of software company Ivanti to TA Associates in August 2020 at a valuation of $2 billion that generated a large windfall gain. [3] Many investors chose to roll their holdings instead. [3] In 2021, Charlesbank Capital Partners invested in Ivanti at a valuation of $4 billion. [3]

In September 2024, Clearlake acquired Natixis' pan-European private credit business MV Credit. [16]

In 2025, the HEC Paris ranked Clearlake Capital #4 of the best performing large cap private equity firms based on performance. [17]

In May 2025, Clearlake launched Clearlake Credit, which underwrites investments up to $1 billion across private and liquid credit, and which is expected to triple the firm's credit asset base by 2030. [18]

In November 2025, Clearlake acquired investment management firm Pathway Capital Management for approximately $1 billion, as an entrance into the private-wealth market. The deal established Clearlake as one of the largest private equity firms by assets. [19]

Funds

Fund [20] Vintage YearCommitted Capital (US$m)
Clearlake Capital Partners IN/AN/A
Clearlake Capital Partners II2010410 [21]
Clearlake Capital Partners III2013789 [22]
Clearlake Capital Partners IV20151,380
Clearlake Opportunities Partners2016600
Clearlake Capital Partners V20173,600 [22]
Clearlake Opportunities Partners II20191,400
Clearlake Capital Partners VI20207,100 [23]
Clearlake Opportunities Partners III [24] 20222,500
Clearlake Capital Partners VII [25] 202214,100 [23]

Investments

Consumer

In 2014, Clearlake acquired the women's clothing company Ashley Stewart for $18 million after it had recently filed for bankruptcy. [12] After the company underwent significant restructuring including cost-cutting, Clearlake sold the company to Invus Group for more than $140 million in 2016. [12]

On May 30, 2022, an investor consortium named BlueCo, co-led by Clearlake and Todd Boehly, acquired Chelsea F.C. for $3 billion. [3] [6] [10] [26] Clearlake, which owns about 60% of Chelsea F.C., shares joint control and equal governance of the club with Boehly. [6]

Industrials

In March 2022, Clearlake acquired Intertape Polymer Group for $2.6 billion, taking the company private. [27] [28]

Tech and software

In 2015, Clearlake took a controlling stake in Syncsort. [29] In 2016, Clearlake took a controlling stake in Vision Solutions. [29] In 2017, Clearlake sold both companies to Centerbridge Partners for $1.26 billion and were merged. [29] [30] In 2020, the merged company rebranded to Precisely. In 2021, Clearlake and TA Associates reacquired Precisely for $3.5 billion. [29] [30]

In November 2020, Clearlake announced that it would acquire Endurance International Group for around $3 billion. [31] Following the acquisition, Clearlake combined Endurance's Web Presence division with Web.com to form Newfold Digital, a global web presence and domain name registration market leader. [32]

In October 2021, the firm acquired Cornerstone OnDemand, a NASDAQ-listed software company, for $5.2 billion and took the company private. [33] [34]

In December 2023, Clearlake announced it would take Alteryx private in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. [35]

In October 2024, Clearlake acquired Black Duck Software for $2.1 billion. [36]

In August 2025, the firm acquired Dun & Bradstreet for $7.7 billion and took the company private. [37]

References

  1. ↑ "Form ADV" (PDF). SEC.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Clearlake Capital hits fundraising trail minus a founder | Buyouts". October 26, 2021. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Clearlake, the US buyout group behind the Chelsea bid". Financial Times. May 7, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Singh, Preeti (May 18, 2022). "Clearlake Capital Wraps Up Latest Fund With $14.1 Billion". Wall Street Journal.
  5. ↑ [clearlake-capital-launches-dedicated-credit-platform/ "Clearlake Capital Launches Dedicated Credit Platform"]. Alternative Credit Investor. May 6, 2025.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Dowd, Kevin. "Clearlake Follows Its Chelsea Deal With A $14.1 Billion Buyout Fund". Forbes. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  7. ↑ Rae, Michael (September 3, 2024). "Clearlake Capital strikes deal to acquire MV Credit". PitchBook. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Clearlake Capital to expand private credit capabilities with $5.1B AUM acquisition". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Our Offices". Clearlake Capital Group. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Wall Street Brings Its Financial Engineering to English Football". Bloomberg.com. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  11. ↑ "PEI 300 | The Largest Private Equity Firms in the World". Private Equity International. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 "The Fall and Rise of a Plus-Size Empire". Bloomberg.com. December 21, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Clearlake Capital sells 20% stake to 3 alternatives fund managers". Pensions & Investments. May 25, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Clearlake Attracts Minority Investment From Dyal, Goldman, Landmark". Institutional Investor. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Clearlake Capital purchases majority stake in WhiteStar Asset Management". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  16. ↑ Platt, Eric (September 3, 2024). "Chelsea FC co-owner Clearlake buys private credit business from Natixis". Financial Times. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  17. ↑ "US-Based Private Equity Firms Dominate Top 10 Spots in Latest Large Buyout Performance Ranking". HEC Paris. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  18. ↑ Kehnscherper, Leonard (May 6, 2025). "Clearlake Seeks to Triple Assets at Credit Unit to $100 Billion". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  19. ↑ Gottfried, Miriam (November 12, 2025). "Clearlake to Double Assets With Nearly $1 Billion Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Clearlake Capital Group | Palico". www.palico.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  21. ↑ "PE Hub | Database". PE Hub. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  22. 1 2 "Clearlake Capital Partners III: Fund Performance | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  23. 1 2 Singh, Preeti (May 18, 2022). "Clearlake Capital Wraps Up Latest Fund With $14.1 Billion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  24. ↑ Larin, Marvin (September 20, 2022). "Clearlake Capital closes Clearlake Opportunities Partners III with more than $2.5 billion in commitments". Clearlake Capital. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  25. ↑ Larin, Marvin (May 18, 2022). "Clearlake Capital closes seventh flagship private equity fund with more than $14.1 billion in commitments". Clearlake Capital. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completes acquisition of Chelsea Football Club". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  27. ↑ "IPG to be Acquired by Clearlake Capital in $2.6 Billion Transaction | Adhesives & Sealants Industry". www.adhesivesmag.com. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Private equity firm Clearlake Capital to buy Intertape Polymer Group for US$2.6B". CityNews Ottawa. March 9, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Woodie, Alex (March 8, 2021). "Clearlake Re-Acquires Precisely In $3.5 Billion Deal". IT Jungle. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  30. 1 2 "Two private equity firms take control of U.S. software company Precisely in $3.5 billion deal: source". Reuters. March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Endurance International Group Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Clearlake Capital Group L.P. for $9.50 per Share". Clearlake.com (Press release). Clearlake Capital. November 2, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  32. ↑ Basch, Mark (February 11, 2021). "Web.com merges with competitor, becoming Newfold Digital". Jax Daily Record. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Clearlake Capital to take Cornerstone OnDemand private for $3.8 billion". Reuters. August 5, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  34. ↑ "In $5.2B deal, Cornerstone OnDemand goes private | TechTarget". HR Software. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  35. ↑ Wiggers, Kyle (December 18, 2023). "Clearlake and Insight reach $4.4B deal to take software maker Alteryx private". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  36. ↑ Dorbian, Iris (October 1, 2024). "Clearlake Capital and Francisco Partners acquire Black Duck Software for $2.1bn". PE Hub. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  37. ↑ Jacob, Denny (March 24, 2025). "Clearlake Capital Group to Acquire Dun & Bradstreet in $7.7 Billion Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
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