Profile: TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group)
David Bonderman, James Coulter, and William S. Price III founded The Texas Pacific Group (now known as TPG Capital) in 1992. Headquartered in Forth Worth, Texas, the firm now manages about $45 billion. There are offices in the Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Russia, Singapore, and the U.K.
TPG’s portfolio has companies that generate more than $65 billion in revenues and provide jobs for more than 300,000 employees.
The firm has a specialty in distressed companies but also invests in well-run operations. The investments range from $10 million to $1 billion.
In 2006, TPG raised a mega $15 billion fund and was the most active private equity player, with $101 billion in deals.
In 2007, TPG was involved in the largest buyout deal in history, TXU. In fact, TPG has experience in the utility sector -- but it has not a good one. The company was unable to buyout Portland General Electric in 2005 because of pushback from the Oregon Public Utility Commission. According to BehindTheBuyouts, the Commission got access to leaked documents that indicated TPG was going to engage in “wholesale layoffs and dramatic cuts in maintenance.”
Killer Deals
- Buyout of Continental in 1993: TPG was alone in its conviction that there was an investment opportunity with the airline. The plan included bringing in a new management team, improving aircraft utilization and focusing on lucrative routes. By 1998, TPG had generated an annual internal rate of return of 55% on its investment. You can read more from a Bain study.
- Investment in Ryanair in the 1990s: Increased its $42 million equity investment by 7X.
- Buyout of Petco in October 2000: TPG and Leonard Green & Partners LP invested $200 million. The payday was $1.2 billion. Then, in 2006, the private equity firms took Petco private again.
Dealmakers
David Bonderman (co-founder): He graduated from Harvard Law and then took the position as the Special Assistant to the U. S. Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division. He even taught at the Tulane University School of Law.
Then, in the early 1980s, Bonderman became a partner for Arnold & Porter in Washington. He focused on securities, bankruptcy, and antitrust law.
Next, he was the chief operating officer for the Robert M. Bass Group, one of the most active buyout firms. It proved an effective platform for building TPG.
Some of Bonderman’s board seats include: Bell & Howell; Continental Airlines; Co-Star Realty Information Group; Denbury Resources; Ducati Motorcycles; Korea First Bank; Magellan Health Services; ON Semiconductors; Oxford Health Plans; Paradyne Networks; Ryanair; and Washington Mutual.
He also has a deep interest in the environment and serves on the boards of The Wilderness Society, the Grand Canyon Trust, and the American Himalayan Foundation.
In 2007 he was listed by Forbes as the 105th wealthiest American with a net worth of approximately $3.3 billion.
James Coulter (co-founder): A Stanford MBA, Coulter was a vice president of Keystone from 1986 to 1992. He serves or has served on the boards of Lenovo Group; J. Crew; The Neiman Marcus Group; Seagate; and Zhone Technologies.
Contact Information
301 Commerce Street
Suite 3300
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Phone: 817-871-4000
Fax: 817-871-4010
www.tpg.com
BloggingBuyouts news
June 2, 2009: TPG and Riverwood Capital like the look of Aptina Imaging
May 6, 2009: TPG says no to LBOs, yes to buying distressed debt
March 19, 2009: TPG gets crushed
February 4, 2009: TPG foregoes deal with foreigners
December 23, 2008: TPG caves in to investors
September 17, 2008: TPG takes a hit on Wamu
September 9, 2008: TPG raises $30 billion - who said buyouts are dead?
June 30, 2008: TPG pursues UK's Bradford & Bingley
May 30, 2008: TPG raising $7 billion for financial services investment fund
April 9, 2008: Apollo, TPG, Blackstone pay $12 billion for Citi debt
December 11, 2007: Bonderman: TPG in no hurry to go public
November 29, 2007: TPG pays $1.3 billion for Axcan Pharma
November 16, 2007: TPG, Goldman Sachs succeed in Alltel buyout
October 30, 2007: China Social Secuity Fund eyes stake in US private equity firms
October 16, 2007: TXU debt offering smoother than expected
August 13, 2007: TPG and Northwest Air fly away with Midwest Air
August 1, 2007: Texas Pacific hires former Dell CEO
June 7, 2007: Texas Pacific struggles with JVC deal
June 5, 2007: Silver Lake and TPG scoop up Avaya
May 23, 2007: Texas Pacific invests $200 million in Indonesian bank
May 21, 2007: It's official: Alltel in $27 billion buyout
April 6, 2007: Harrah's shareholders vote to cash in
April 5, 2007: Silver Lake, Texas Pacific in $5.4 billion deal for Sabre
March 28, 2007: Texas Pacific Group pays $945 million for HealthSouth surgery unit
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