A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loans, along with the assets of the acquiring company. The use of debt, which normally has a lower cost of capital than equity, serves to reduce the overall cost of financing the acquisition.
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment banks, who also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges. Through this process, colloquially known as floating, or going public, a privately held company is transformed into a public company. Initial public offerings can be used to raise new equity capital for companies, to monetize the investments of private shareholders such as company founders or private equity investors, and to enable easy trading of existing holdings or future capital raising by becoming publicly traded.
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading of derivatives and equity securities, FICC services or research. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry, it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket, Middle Market, and boutique market.
In the field of finance, private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public. Private equity is offered instead to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the companies. In casual usage, "private equity" can refer to these investment firms rather than the companies that they invest in.
Brookfield Corporation is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct control investments in real estate, renewable power, infrastructure, credit and private equity. The company invests in distressed securities through Oaktree Capital, which it bought in 2019. Brookfield's headquarters are in Toronto. It also has corporate offices in New York City, London, São Paulo, Mumbai, Shanghai, Dubai, and Sydney.
Shanda Group is a privately-owned multinational investment firm. With offices in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, New York and Redwood City, the firm invests in public markets, real estate and venture capital, focusing on companies in the fields of healthcare, financial services, media, and technology. The company was established in December 1999 as Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, an online gaming company known for publishing and operating games such as The World of Legend and Magical Land. By 2004 Shanda was the largest online game company in China, and its listing on the NASDAQ that year under ticker SNDA was the largest IPO for a Chinese internet company in the United States. Shanda Interactive later diversified and its gaming unit spun off in 2009, raising $1.04 billion in an IPO (GAME). Shanda Group was taken private in 2012 by its founders, and by 2017 it had $8 billion in net assets under management.
Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele.
A special purpose acquisition company, also known as a "blank check company", is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company, thus making the private company public without going through the initial public offering process, which often carries significant procedural and regulatory burdens. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SPACs are created specifically to pool funds to finance a future merger or acquisition opportunity within a set timeframe; these opportunities usually have yet to be identified while raising funds.
Perella Weinberg Partners L.P. is an American global financial services firm focused on investment banking advisory services.
Swift Transportation is a Phoenix, Arizona-based American truckload motor shipping carrier, part of Knight-Swift. With over 23,000 trucks, it is the largest common carrier in the United States. In 2017, Swift merged with Knight Transportation, also of Phoenix, effective September 8, 2017.
A Business Development Company ("BDC") is a form of unregistered closed-end investment company in the United States that invests in small and mid-sized businesses. This form of company was created by the US Congress in 1980 in the amendments to the Investment Company Act of 1940. Publicly filing firms may elect regulation as BDCs if they meet certain requirements of the Investment Company Act.
Publicly traded private equity refers to an investment firm or investment vehicle, which makes investments conforming to one of the various private equity strategies, and is listed on a public stock exchange.
Ares Management Corporation is a global alternative investment manager operating in the credit, private equity and real estate markets. The company was founded in 1997 with additional offices across North America, Europe, and Asia.
RPX Corporation is an American provider of international risk management services for patents. The company was founded in March 2008, and is based in San Francisco. It was incorporated on July 15, 2008. By acquiring patents that pose potential problems and providing information on litigation, RPX seeks to reduce patent assertions directed at its clients.
Centerview Partners is an American independent investment banking firm. Centerview operates primarily as an investment banking advisory firm. Centerview has 60 partners and 400 professionals with expertise across a wide range of industries, geographies, transaction structures and sizes.
Dayton Superior Corporation is a global company serving the nonresidential concrete construction industry. Dayton Superior has four main product lines of Concrete Accessories, Chemicals, Forming, and Paving with 117 patents for such products. The headquarters is in Dayton, Ohio. There are 30 other office/warehouse locations throughout the US, Canada, Colombia, and Panama.
Leonard M. Tannenbaum is the founder and chief executive officer of AFC Gamma Inc., a commercial mortgage REIT which trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker AFCG. Previously, he was the founder and chief executive officer of Fifth Street Asset Management, which was sold to Oaktree Asset Management in 2017. He also founded the pro-business political action committee "Keeping America Competitive".
Golub Capital is a credit asset manager based in the United States with over $60 billion of capital under management. The firm has primary business lines in middle market lending, late stage lending, and broadly syndicated loans. The firm is also affiliated with Golub Capital BDC, Inc., a business development company that trades on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol, GBDC. Golub Capital is one of the largest non-bank middle market lenders and providers of senior debt.
GreenSky, Inc. is a financial technology company founded in 2006 based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company provides technology to banks and merchants to make loans to consumers for home improvement, solar, healthcare and other purposes. Financing for GreenSky credit programs is provided by federally-insured, federal and state-chartered financial institutions. From 2012 to 2016 nearly $5 billion had been lent through GreenSky credit program. In September 2021, Goldman Sachs announced to acquire GreenSky for about $2.24 billion and completed the acquisition in March 2022. Goldman Sachs announced it would sell the business at a loss in 2023.
American Capital, Ltd. was a publicly traded private equity and global asset management firm, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol “ACAS” from 1997 to 2017 and a component of the S&P 500 Index from 2007 to 2009. American Capital was sold to Ares Management in 2017 at a sale price that totaled $4.1 billion. For those investors who bought American Capital stock in its August 29, 1997 IPO, and held their shares through the sale of American Capital on January 3, 2017, they received a 14% compounded annual return including dividends.
