BrandWikiReturn

Leonard Green & Partners

Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (LGP) is an American private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles.[1] The firm specializes in private equity investments. LGP has invested in over 95 companies since its inception, including Petco and The Container Store.[2][3]

In June 2024, Leonard Green and Partners ranked 18th in Private Equity International's PEI 300 ranking among the world's largest private equity firms.[4]

History

Leonard Green was founded by Leonard I. Green in 1989[5] after separating from Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd. (Gibbons Green), a bank which he had co-founded in 1969 with Edward Gibbons and Lewis van Amerongen.[6][7] Leonard Green died in 2002, leaving the firm to be run by John G. Danhakl, Peter J. Nolan and Jonathan D. Sokoloff.[5]

The firm's predecessor, Gibbons Green, was among the earliest practitioners of the leveraged and management buyout.[6][7] Gibbons Green purchased several companies, including Purex Industries in 1982,[8] Budget Rent a Car from Transamerica in 1986 and Kash n' Karry Food Stores in 1988.[6][7][9] The company planned to purchase Argonaut Group Inc. in 1987, but withdrew from the buyout.[10]

The dissolution of Gibbons Green and the formation of Leonard Green & Partners is attributed by some to the failure of two buyouts: Ohio Mattress Company and Sheller-Globe Corporation.[11][12][13]

In 2007, LGP acquired 17% shares of Whole Foods Market in a PIPE investment deal, "one of the best investments in our firm’s history" according to firm manager Jonathan Sokoloff, because it enabled LGP to acquire J.Crew, BJ's Wholesale Club and Jo-Ann Stores with the cash made from Whole Foods.[14]

In 2019, LGP named John Baumer and Evan Hershberg co-heads of the Jade Fund.[15]

In March 2020, partners at LGP committed to plans for a $10 million employee-assistance fund for employees of Leonard Green portfolio companies impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[16][17]

In March 2025, Leonard Green & Partners won PE Hub's Comprehensive Trade of the Year Award for the sale of $18.25 billion in SRS to Home Depot.[18]

Notable investments

In 2016, LGP closed Green Equity Investors VII, L.P. ("GEI VII"), with $9.6 billion of committed capital.[30] In 2019, LGP raised $14.75 billion for two new funds.[15]

Prospect Medical Holdings

In April, 2025, Upland, Pa., based Crozer Health, which had previously been acquired by Leonard Green & Partners, was closed down after no buyer could be found, laying off 2,600 employees. The Pennsylvania State Attorney General's office cited Leonard Green's practices as a primary reason for the closure.[31] Specifically, Leonard Green & Partners-controlled Prospect Medical Holdings used a sale-leaseback strategy as well as other business decisions that a U.S. Senate report described as "[saddling] Crozer with unmanageable lease obligations and even higher levels of debt."[32] The Pennsylvania Attorney General sued Prospect in 2024 for breach of contract, alleging that the company "[diverted] more than $450 million to private investors" and "failed to fully fund the pension accounts for Crozer Keystone retirees."[33][34][35]

In February 2021, ProPublica reported on a dispute between LGP and Rhode Island's regulators and legislators over LGP's divestment in Prospect Medical Holdings.[36][37] Approval for LGP's attempted sale of its 60% stake in Prospect to its co-owners was held up by the Rhode Island attorney general, who, given the dire financial situation LGP was leaving the health system in, conditioned its approval on LGP placing $120-150 million in escrow to back up its two fiscally strained hospitals in the state. LGP had in 2018 initiated a dividend recapitalization which landed it and its investors $658.4 million in dividends and management fees, and the next year sold Prospect's real estate in three states to Medical Properties Trust for $1.386 billion, leaving it with long-term lease obligations of $1.3 billion. In response to the AG's conditions, LGP threatened to shut down the hospitals. The pressure of potential loss of healthcare services led the AG to lower the escrow obligation to $80 million while also requiring LGP to commit over $30 million to the system during the transition.[38]

External links

References

  1. Leonard Green & Partners, L.P.: Private Company Information – Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com, retrieved 2017-10-03^
  2. COMPANY NEWS; MANAGEMENT-LED GROUP TO BUY PETCO FOR $505 MILLION New York Times, 2000-05-18, retrieved 2013-12-10^
  3. Elaine Hughes. Private firm buys Container Store Usatoday.Com, 2007-07-02, retrieved 2013-12-10^
  4. 2024 PEI 300 by Private Equity International - Infogram infogram.com, retrieved 2025-02-05^
  5. Christopher Witkowsky. Leonard Green changes terms amid fundraise Private Funds CFO, 2011-10-06, retrieved 2019-10-15^
  6. Gibbons, Green Separation The New York Times, 1989-05-05, retrieved 2019-12-06^
  7. Gibbons, Green Adept in Risky Field : Bicoastal Firm Becomes Major Player in Leveraged Buyouts Los Angeles Times, 1986-09-07, retrieved 2019-12-06^
  8. Purex Merger Is Approved The New York Times, 1982-08-12, retrieved 2016-04-28^
  9. Denise L. Smith. KASH N' KARRY BUYS MARKETS FROM KROGER Orlando Sentinel, 24 August 1988, retrieved 2019-12-06^
  10. Special. COMPANY NEWS; Gibbons Cancels Argonaut Buyout The New York Times, 1987-12-23, retrieved 2013-12-10^
  11. Sarah Bartlett. Wall Street's Treacherous Side The New York Times, 1989-11-06, retrieved 2013-12-10^
  12. Sarah Bartlett. Filing Discloses Dispute Over Sale of Sheller-Globe The New York Times, 1989-10-13, retrieved 2013-12-10^
  13. Gibbons, Green Separation The New York Times, 1989-05-05, retrieved 2013-12-10^
  14. Kevin Dowd. This day in buyout history: LGP closes one of the most successful pre-crisis megafunds PitchBook, 2017-03-17, retrieved 2024-06-15^
  15. Ted Bunker. WSJ News Exclusive Wall Street Journal, 2019-12-09, retrieved 2020-02-19^
  16. Chris Witkowsky. Leonard Green executives to form $10m employee-assistance fund Buyouts, 2020-03-19, retrieved 2020-07-21^
  17. PE Daily: Leonard Green Partners Commit to Employee Assistance Funds Wall Street Journal, 2020-03-19, retrieved 2020-07-21^
  18. admin. Leonard Green & Partners wins PE Hub's Overall Deal of the Year Award for $18.25bn sale of SRS to The Home Depot 2025-03-03, retrieved 2025-03-20^
  19. Rite Aid to buy rival chain - Oct. 14, 1996 money.cnn.com, retrieved 2020-11-11^
  20. LESLIE'S POOLMART TAKEN PRIVATE IN $140 MILLION DEAL – New York Times The New York Times, 1997-06-13, retrieved 2013-12-10^
  21. Nick Paumgarten. Food Fighter The New Yorker, 2009-12-27, retrieved 2024-06-15^
  22. Leonard Green to buy Jo-Ann Stores for $1.6 billion Reuters, 2010-12-23, retrieved 2024-06-15^
  23. Rosemary Batt, Eileen Appelbaum, Tamar Katz. The Role of Public REITs in Financialization and Industry Restructuring Institute for New Economic Thinking, July 9, 2024, retrieved September 2, 2024^
  24. Kim Severson, Michael De La Merced. Shake Shack, Born in a Park, Is Going Public With Big Dreams DealBook, 29 January 2015, retrieved 2020-02-19^
  25. Pure Gym sold to Leonard Green private equity house Financial Times, 3 November 2017, retrieved 2024-06-15^
  26. Lauren Hirsch. Private equity giant Leonard Green takes another chance on retail, buying online retailer Shade Store CNBC, 2018-08-09, retrieved 2018-08-17^
  27. Leslie Collins. WellSky adds Leonard Green as new majority stakeholder Kansas City Business Journal, 21 July 2020^
  28. James Cutchin. Leonard Green Acquires Service Logic Los Angeles Business Journal, 5 November 2020, retrieved 2020-11-09^
  29. Ted Bunker. Leonard Green Emerges as Buyer for Warburg's Service Logic Wall Street Journal, 2020-10-15, retrieved 2020-11-09^
  30. Leonard Green and Partners www.leonardgreen.com, retrieved 2017-09-07^
  31. Alan Condon. 'We worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome': Crozer Health to shut down Becker's Hospital Review, 2025-04-21, retrieved 2025-06-08^
  32. Jay Asser. Judge Approves Closure of Crozer Health, Ending 'Mismanagement' of Hospitals Health Leaders Media, 24 April 2025, retrieved 1 July 2025^
  33. AG Henry Sues Prospect Medical Holdings over Breach of Contract, Mismanagement of Crozer Health System Resulting in Closures, Disruption of Services Pennsylvania Attorney General, 29 October 2024, retrieved 1 July 2025^
  34. Susanna Vogel. Pennsylvania attorney general sues Prospect Medical alleging 'corporate greed' Legal Dive, 31 October 2024, retrieved 3 July 2025^
  35. David Chang. Pennsylvania AG sues Prospect Medical Holdings over closure of hospitals NBC Philadelphia, 30 October 2024, retrieved 3 July 2025^
  36. Peter Elkind. Rich Investors Stripped Millions From a Hospital Chain and Want to Leave It Behind. A Tiny State Stands in Their Way. ProPublica, February 4, 2021, retrieved February 7, 2021^
  37. Peter Elkind, Doris Burke. Investors Extracted $400 Million From a Hospital Chain That Sometimes Couldn't Pay for Medical Supplies or Gas for Ambulances ProPublica, September 30, 2020, retrieved February 7, 2021^
  38. Rosemary Batt, Eileen Appelbaum, Tamar Katz. The Role of Public REITs in Financialization and Industry Restructuring Institute for New Economic Thinking, July 9, 2024, retrieved September 2, 2024^