Golden Gate Capital
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder | David Dominik and team of former Bain Capital and Bain & Company investment experts |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | David Dominik (leader) |
| Products | Leveraged buyouts, minority investments, growth capital |
Number of employees | 54 (2017) |
| Website | goldengatecap |
Golden Gate Capital is a private equity firm based in San Francisco, California, United States. The company focuses its investments on sectors including technology, financial services, retail, and industrial markets by utilizing leveraged buyouts, substantial minority investments, and growth capital strategies. By 2018, the firm managed assets exceeding $15 billion.
Established in 2000 by a team of former investment experts from Bain Capital and Bain & Company, with David Dominik, a former Bain Capital partner, at the helm, Golden Gate Capital operates using an evergreen fund model. This structure enables ongoing fundraising that corresponds directly with transaction activity rather than adhering to traditional limited fund durations. As of 2017, the firm employed around 54 investment professionals.
Holdings
Following the burst of the dot-com bubble, Golden Gate Capital concentrated on acquiring distressed technology companies impacted by the Great Recession.
In 2006, it purchased Neways International for $500 million through a divorce court auction after a prior $700 million deal failed due to legal complications involving the sellers.
The firm acquired a 75% ownership stake in Express from Limited Brands in 2007 for approximately $550 million.
Through its entity Mac Acquisition LLC, Golden Gate gained majority control of Romano's Macaroni Grill in 2008 for $131 million; although the restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2017, it successfully restructured and exited bankruptcy by February 2018.
In 2009, Golden Gate bought J.Jill from Talbots and later divested it to Arcapita in 2011.
The acquisition of California Pizza Kitchen occurred in 2011; however, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2020 amid challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Golden Gate partnered with Wolverine World Wide and Blum Capital in 2012 to acquire Collective Brands.
In 2014, the firm purchased Red Lobster from Darden Restaurants for $2.1 billion. This transaction faced criticism due to asset stripping practices involving real estate sales retained as profit rather than being reinvested. Red Lobster subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024.
Also in 2014, Golden Gate acquired Angus Chemical Co. from Dow Chemical for $1.215 billion.
In May 2015, it supported a $750 million reinsurance initiative led by Philip P. Gass and Kostas Cheliotis and sold its J.Jill holdings to TowerBrook.
Following PacSun’s bankruptcy, Golden Gate acquired the company in September 2016.
In January 2017, Golden Gate purchased Bob Evans Restaurants for $565 million and completed the acquisition of Neustar later that year.
By June 2018, Golden Gate consolidated portfolio companies Eddie Bauer and Pacific Sunwear into PSEB Group. That same year, it also acquired The Learning Experience early education franchise along with Vector Solutions from Providence Equity Partners.
In September 2019, Golden Gate took ownership of Invo Holding, a provider specializing in autism services. Later that year, it divested Hillstone Environmental Partners—co-founded in 2015—to NGL Energy Partners for around $600 million.
External links
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