Platinum Equity Announces $10 Billion Final Close for Flagship Private Equity Fund

The fund, which had a target of $8 billion and a hard cap of $10 billion, was oversubscribed. It is Platinum Equity’s flagship private equity fund, focused on complex transactions utilizing Platinum Equity’s highly specialized M&A&O^® approach.Mark Barnhill, the Platinum Equity partner responsible for leading the capital raise, said Fund V generated high demand from a diverse range of institutional investors around the world. More than 250 subscribers from 30 countries invested in the fund.

“Our investment brand is strong and getting stronger, and we have relationships today with some of the largest and most active institutional investors in the world,” Mr. Barnhill said. “We have earned their trust through our performance and track record.”

“The investor base is diverse but has certain common threads, including an emphasis on finding managers with deep operational capabilities, differentiated strategies and a demonstrated track record across multiple economic cycles,” he said.

Platinum Equity, founded by Mr. Gores in 1995, was ranked among the top 10 performing private equity firms in the world for 2018 in a recent study by HEC Paris Business School and Dow Jones.

The firm, which funded its initial investments with founder’s capital, has raised more than $25 billion from institutional investors since launching its funds business a decade-and-a-half ago.

Platinum Equity raised its first private equity fund in 2004 with $700 million in capital commitments. That was followed by Fund II with $2.75 billion in 2007, Fund III with $3.75 billion in 2012, Fund IV with $6.5 billion in 2016 and now Fund V with $10 billion. The firm also manages a $1.5 billion Small Cap Fund pursuing similar private equity investments in the lower middle market.

Platinum Equity’s investment portfolio includes a broad spectrum of portfolio companies and industries. The firm specializes in complex carve-outs from Fortune 500 companies; public to private transitions; and specialty acquisitions from a wide variety of private sellers.

Platinum Equity has been active recently on both the buy and sell side. In December the firm announced a $5.3 billion divestiture transaction that will take portfolio company Vertiv public. In October, Platinum Equity announced the $2.74 billion acquisition of Cision Ltd., a leading global provider of software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals.

Mr. Gores said Fund V will focus on more of the same, as Platinum Equity continues on a growth trajectory that includes a diversified investment product offering and operating experience on all seven continents.

“We have the same fundamental investment strategy, the same sense of urgency and the same disciplined approach to investing that the firm was founded on,” Mr. Gores said.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is Platinum Equity’s fund counsel and legal adviser for Fund V.

Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with more than $19 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world. Platinum Equity specializes in mergers, acquisitions and operations – a trademarked strategy it calls M&A&O® – acquiring and operating companies in a broad range of business markets, including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, telecommunications and other industries. Over the past 25 years Platinum Equity has completed more than 250 acquisitions.