Elevation Partners
| Company type | Private equity firm |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity, Venture capital |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Roger McNamee, Marc Bodnick, Fred Anderson, John Riccitiello, Bono |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Headquarters | New York City and Menlo Park, California , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Investments in intellectual property, technology, and media companies |
Elevation Partners was a U.S.-based private equity firm focused on investing in companies within the realms of intellectual property, technology, and media, managing a portfolio valued at $1.9 billion. Established in 2004, the firm maintained offices in both New York City and Menlo Park, California. Between 2012 and 2015, its holdings were gradually acquired by other entities, culminating in the dissolution of its portfolio under the Elevation brand by 2015. Subsequently, some members of its board went on to found "NextEquity Partners," which pursued similar investment strategies. Additionally, rock artist Bono co-founded "The Rise Fund," an initiative concentrating on sustainable development sectors aligned with United Nations goals.
Founding
Elevation Partners was initiated by former executives from Silver Lake Partners, including Roger McNamee and Marc Bodnick, together with Fred Anderson, previously of Apple Inc., and John Riccitiello, formerly at Electronic Arts. The firm gained prominence partly due to the involvement of U2’s frontman Bono, who joined soon after its launch in 2004. The company’s name was inspired by U2's track "Elevation." In January 2011, Marc Bodnick exited the firm to dedicate his efforts toward building Quora. Elevation Partners operated independently and was distinct from The Elevation Group.
Investments
One of Elevation’s earliest significant attempts was a March 2005 effort to acquire Eidos Interactive, which ultimately failed as the company was sold to competitor SCi Entertainment. Later that year, in November 2005, Elevation invested $300 million to merge video game studios BioWare and Pandemic Studios under VG Holding Corp., forming one of the largest independent game developers worldwide. Additionally, it committed $100 million to Move, Inc., a provider of real estate information services.
In August 2006, Elevation acquired over a 40% ownership stake in Forbes Media, which owns Forbes magazine and Forbes.com, for an estimated $250–300 million. Following this acquisition, Forbes implemented several rounds of layoffs internationally and suspended its employee pension plan. The Forbes family also divested their historic Manhattan headquarters to New York University.
On June 4, 2007, Elevation invested $325 million for a quarter ownership in Palm, Inc., followed by an additional $100 million equity infusion in December 2008 through convertible preferred shares. That same year, Elevation took ownership of SDI Media Group—the leading global provider of subtitling and dubbing services—from private equity firm Warburg Pincus. In October 2007, Electronic Arts, led by Elevation founding partner John Riccitiello as CEO, agreed to acquire BioWare and Pandemic Studios for $860 million.
In April 2010, Elevation Partners invested $90 million to acquire a 1% stake in Facebook.
By September 2014, the fund had achieved an annualized return rate of 11.4%.
Relationship with Wikimedia
In 2008, Elevation Partners contributed over one million dollars to the Wikimedia Foundation and engaged in discussions about potential expanded cooperation, reflecting its interest in supporting nonprofit initiatives.
Portfolio companies
- Facebook – Major stake acquired, including a $120 million equity purchase in 2010
- Forbes
- Move, Inc.
- SDI Media
- MarketShare
- Yelp, Inc.