Silver Lake (investment firm)
| Company type | Private equity firm |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity, Technology investment |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Jim Davidson, David Roux, Roger McNamee, Glenn Hutchins |
| Headquarters | Silicon Valley and New York City , United States |
Area served | Global (including London, Hong Kong, Singapore) |
Key people | Egon Durban (Co-CEO), Greg Mondre (Co-CEO), Joe Osnoss (Managing Partner), Ken Hao (Chairman), Mike Bingle (Vice Chairman and Managing Partner Emeritus), Christian Lucas (Managing Partner) |
| Products | Private equity funds, growth capital, structured equity and debt financing |
Silver Lake Technology Management, L.L.C. is a globally recognized American private equity firm with a focus on investments in technology and technology-driven sectors. The company maintains its headquarters in both Silicon Valley and New York, while also operating offices in key financial hubs such as London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
As of June 2024, Silver Lake was ranked 12th on Private Equity International's PEI 300 list, which ranks the largest private equity firms worldwide.
History
Established in 1999 amid the late 1990s technology surge, Silver Lake distinguished itself by concentrating on private equity stakes in established technology enterprises rather than early-stage startups favored by venture capital. The founding team comprised Jim Davidson, formerly leading Technology Investment Banking at Hambrecht & Quist; David Roux, who brought experience as CEO of Liberate Technologies and held senior positions at Oracle Corporation and Lotus Development; Roger McNamee of Integral Capital Partners; and Glenn Hutchins, previously with Blackstone Group and an economic advisor during the early Clinton Administration.
The firm's inaugural fund, Silver Lake Partners, secured $2.3 billion, emerging as one of the most successful funds of its era. Subsequent fundraising efforts saw significant growth: Silver Lake Partners II closed in 2004 with $3.6 billion; Partners III raised $9.6 billion in 2007; and Partners IV secured $10.3 billion in 2013. In 2017, Partners V amassed $15 billion, coinciding with Jim Davidson’s departure from the managing partner committee.
In 2007, Silver Lake introduced Silver Lake Sumeru to focus on middle-market investments, raising $1.1 billion for its initial fund by 2008. Later, in 2011, Silver Lake Kraftwerk was launched to provide growth capital targeting later-stage technology and technology-enabled companies within the operations, energy, and resource industries.
After Microsoft's acquisition of Skype in 2011, Silver Lake encountered scrutiny related to employee stock option repurchase provisions that restricted employee financial benefits.
In September 2020, Silver Lake began discussions to invest over $1 billion into Indian retail leader Reliance Retail. By January 2021, the firm closed Silver Lake Partners VI with commitments totaling $20 billion.
In December 2021, Silver Lake purchased a one-third minority interest (33.3%) in the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), which oversees Australia's national soccer competitions including the A-League Men, A-League Women, and A-League Youth. Additionally, the firm maintains a stake in City Football Group, owners of A-League club Melbourne City FC. Silver Lake estimates the value of the APL and associated assets at more than US$300 million.
By May 2024, Silver Lake successfully raised $20.5 billion for its seventh fund, Silver Lake Partners VII.
Key personnel
In December 2019, Egon Durban and Greg Mondre were named Co-CEOs of Silver Lake while Joe Osnoss was elevated to managing partner. Concurrently with the launch of Silver Lake Partners VI, Ken Hao assumed the role of chairman and Mike Bingle was appointed vice chairman and managing partner emeritus. In December 2023, Christian Lucas advanced to managing partner.
Investments
Since its inception in 1999, Silver Lake has engaged in investments through leveraged buyouts, minority growth stakes, and private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions. Noteworthy private equity holdings include:
| Investment | Year | Sector | Company description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Arts | 2025 | Video Game and Entertainment | Purchased in September 2025 for $52.5 billion, EA is known for prominent game series such as Madden NFL and The Sims. |
| Altera | 2025 | Integrated circuits | Acquired a controlling 51% interest in Altera. |
| Diamond Baseball Holdings | 2022 | Sports | Obtained from Endeavor; manages more than 40 Minor League Baseball franchises. |
| Software AG | 2022 | Integration software | Invested €344 million in 2022; proposed a full acquisition offer of €2.2 billion in 2023. |
| Integrity | 2021 | Insurtech | Committed $1.2 billion in December 2021. |
| A League | 2021 | Sports | Secured a one-third ownership stake (33.3%). |
| Group 42 | 2021 | Information technology | Invested close to $800 million; actively contributed to the UAE’s COVID-19 initiatives. |
| Klarna | 2020 | Financial | Placed $500 million for a minority position under 5%. |
| Jio | 2020 | E-commerce | Invested upwards of $1.3 billion over two funding rounds in Reliance Retail’s digital segment. |
| Expedia Group | 2020 | E-commerce | Co-led a $3.2 billion fundraising effort alongside Apollo Global Management. |
| Airbnb | 2020 | E-commerce | Collaborated with Sixth Street Partners to invest $1 billion. |
| 2020 | Social media | Injected $1 billion in March 2020. | |
| Waymo | 2020 | Autonomous driving | Spearheaded Waymo’s inaugural external financing round. |
| First Advantage | 2019 | Worker analysis | Acquired from Symphony Technology Group for $1.25 billion. |
| City Football Group | 2019 | Sports | Made an equity investment totaling $500 million. |
| Verily | 2019 | Biotechnology | Led a $1 billion capital raise for Alphabet’s subsidiary. |
| 'ServiceMax' | '2018' | 'Information technology' | 'Obtained majority ownership from GE Digital; GE retained a 10% minority interest.' |
| 'AMC Entertainment' | '2018' | 'Entertainment' | 'Invested $600 million via Silver Lake Alpine.' |
| 'GoodRx' | '2018' | 'Telemedicine' | 'Acquired a 35.3% stake valued at $2.8 billion; added $100 million investment in 2020.' |
| 'Ant Group' | '2018' | 'Financial' | 'Committed $500 million; valuation reached $210 billion by 2020, suggesting potential returns near 40%.' |
| 'Credit Karma' | '2018' | 'Financial' | 'Secondary investment amounting to $500 million.' |
| 'Blackhawk Network Holdings' | '2018' | 'E-commerce' | 'Purchased provider of prepaid gift and incentive solutions for $2.57 billion.' |
| 'WP Engine' | '2018' | 'Information technology' | 'Invested $250 million into the WordPress digital experience platform.' |
| 'Cornerstone OnDemand' | '2017' | 'Worker management' | 'Led a $300 million funding round for cloud-based human capital management software.' |
| 'Unity Technologies' | '2017' | 'Game engine' | 'Announced a strategic investment partnership.' |
| 'SoFi' | '2017' | 'Financial' | 'Led a Series F financing round totaling $500 million.' |
| 'Ancestry.com' | '2016' | 'Genealogy' | 'Co-invested with GIC in the online family history and DNA testing firm.' |
| 'NortonLifeLock (Symantec)' | '2016' | 'Cybersecurity' | 'Made two strategic investments totaling $1 billion related to Symantec and Blue Coat acquisitions.' |
| 'SolarWinds' | '2015' | 'Information technology' | 'Acquired for $4.5 billion; completed IPO in 2018.' |
| 'EMC Corporation' | '2015' | 'Information technology' | 'Participated alongside Michael Dell in buyout; later profited from VMware sale yielding gains of approximately $70 billion.' |
| 'Motorola Solutions' | '2015' | 'Information technology' | 'Invested $1 billion to support growth strategies; company valued at roughly $12.6 billion.' |
| 'Dell Technologies' | '2013' | 'Information technology' | "Led landmark take-private buyout worth $24.4 billion with Michael Dell; returned to public markets following reverse merger involving VMware tracking stock." |
| "Global Blue" | "2012" | "Financial services" | "Acquired leading European VAT service provider for about €1 billion." |
| "Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG)" | "2012–2025" | "Sports and entertainment" | "Initially acquired minority stake, subsequently supported acquisitions including UFC; took the company private again via a $13 billion transaction completed March 2025." |
| "Alibaba Group" | "2011" | "E-commerce" | "Invested approximately $500 million pre-IPO; post-IPO stake valued above $5.1 billion." |
| "GoDaddy" | "2011" | "Web hosting" | "Participated in take-private deal; company re-entered public markets in 2015." |
| "Skype" | "2009" | "Communication software" | "Acquired majority ownership from eBay; Microsoft purchased Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011." |
| "Avaya" | "2007" | "Communication software" | "Completed an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout alongside TPG Capital." |
| "Sabre Corporation" | "2006" | "E-commerce" | "Acquired for approximately $4.85 billion including assumed debt." |
| "NXP Semiconductors" | "2006" | "Electronics" | "Consortium acquisition of Philips’ semiconductor division for €6.4 billion; rebranded as NXP Semiconductors." |
| "SunGard" | "2006" | "Information technology" | "Led consortium acquisition valued at $11.3 billion, marking the largest tech buyout at that time." |
| "Broadcom (Avago Technologies)" | "2005" | "Electronics" | "Established Avago Technologies from Agilent's semiconductor unit with KKR support; facilitated Avago's IPO and record-setting acquisition of Broadcom for $37 billion." |
Investment strategies
Silver Lake directs its technology investments through four principal approaches:
- Silver Lake Partners concentrates on private equity acquisitions within large-cap technology and technology-enabled enterprises, constituting the bulk of the firm's assets under management.
- Silver Lake Alpine delivers structured equity and debt financing tailored to technology and tech-enabled organizations.
- Silver Lake Waterman supplies growth funding through a proprietary growth debt instrument aimed at later-stage technology businesses.
- Silver Lake Long Term Capital adopts an extensive, long-range investment strategy encompassing both debt and equity across various regions and sectors.