WL Ross & Co
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | April 2000 |
| Founder | Wilbur Ross |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States, Asia, Korea, Ireland, Japan, France, China |
Key people | Wilbur Ross (CEO) |
| Products | Private equity investments, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions |
| Parent | Invesco Ltd. (since 2006) |
WL Ross & Co is a private equity firm established by Wilbur Ross in April 2000, with its main office located in New York City. The firm specializes in acquiring financially troubled companies with undervalued shares, generally within the $100 to $200 million valuation range. Its investment activities span various regions, including the United States, Asia, Korea, Ireland, Japan, France, and China. WL Ross & Co typically secures controlling interests through acquisitions or buyouts, facilitating restructuring efforts, corporate turnarounds, mergers, and industry consolidation.
Beginning in 2002, the firm purchased assets from bankrupt steel manufacturers such as LTV Steel Corp, Bethlehem Steel, Weirton Steel, Acme Steel, Georgetown Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, and Republican Steel. By 2003, WL Ross had formed alliances with the United Steelworkers union to emphasize job retention. The company created the International Steel Group (ISG) by merging LTV Corp., Acme Steel, and Bethlehem Steel. ISG emerged as the largest integrated steel producer in the U.S. and entered the Fortune 500 list by 2005.
In April 2005, WL Ross divested ISG to Luxembourg-based Mittal Steel for $4.5 billion in a combination of cash and stock. Since 1989, Mittal Steel—led by CEO Lakshmi Mittal—had pursued an aggressive expansion strategy. In 2005, Mittal announced intentions to reduce U.S. steel employment by up to 45,000 jobs by 2010.
From 2006 onward, WL Ross & Co has functioned as a wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., an investment management company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Wilbur Ross remains CEO under the WL Ross brand.
Headquarters
Founded in April 2000, WL Ross & Co is based at 1166 Avenue of the Americas in New York City and also operates an office in Mumbai, India.
History
Prior to establishing WL Ross & Company, Wilbur Ross led the bankruptcy restructuring division at N M Rothschild & Sons in New York starting in the late 1970s. In April 2000, he departed Rothschild to launch WL Ross & Co., acquiring management of a "$200 million Rothschild investment fund" and raising an additional $250 million from investors to concentrate on distressed assets. The founding investment team included David H. Storper, David L. Wax, Stephen J. Toy, and Pamela K. Wilson—a former J.P. Morgan executive.
Investments, acquisitions and mergers
WL Ross & Co focuses on companies facing financial distress with valuations typically ranging from $100 million to $200 million. While primarily active within the United States, its investments also extend to Asia, Korea, Ireland, Japan, France, and China. The firm acquires majority ownership stakes through purchases or buyouts that enable corporate restructuring, business turnarounds, mergers, and industry consolidation strategies. Additionally, it participates in public equity market investments.
International Steel Group (2002–2005)
The downturn of the U.S. steel sector was fueled by competition from cheaper imports, labor disputes, and a lack of innovation. By the early 2000s, this led to substantial workforce reductions.
In February 2002, WL Ross & Co agreed to acquire bankrupt LTV Steel Corp’s assets for $125 million plus assuming $200 million in liabilities. During this period, Ross’s team engaged with then-Commerce Secretary Donald Evans amid Bush administration efforts to support domestic steel through tariff measures. In March 2002, President Bush implemented steel tariffs of up to 30%, which raised domestic steel prices by approximately 25% before being rescinded in December 2003 due to trade disagreements with the EU and Japan.
Ross consolidated multiple steel assets—including LTV Steel—forming Cleveland-based International Steel Group (ISG) by merging LTV Corp., Acme Steel, and Bethlehem Steel. ISG went public in December 2003 amid increased steel demand stimulated by tariffs and financing incentives offered by U.S. automakers. ISG subsequently acquired Weirton Steel along with Acme Steel, Bethlehem Steel, and Georgetown Steel.
By March 2003, ISG was positioned to become the largest integrated steel producer in the United States with a shipment capacity of 16 million tons after acquiring Bethlehem Steel’s assets following its bankruptcy filing in 2001.
Under Ross’s leadership, employees at LTV and Bethlehem agreed to new labor terms that replaced pension plans with 401(k) retirement accounts. By December 2003, Ross had garnered support from local steelworker unions.
In April 2004, a federal court approved ISG’s $237 million acquisition of Weirton Steel’s assets. ISG subsequently established a new division called ISG Weirton Steel.
In April 2005, WL Ross & Co sold ISG—a Fortune 500 company that had consolidated multiple steel producers including Bethlehem Steel and LTV Steel—to Mittal for $4.5 billion paid in cash and stock. Mittal incorporated these assets into its American subsidiary Mittal American Steel. Under CEO Lakshmi Mittal’s leadership since 1989, Mittal Steel had been actively acquiring firms and announced plans for significant workforce reductions following the acquisition. In 2006, Mittal Steel merged with Arcelor to create ArcelorMittal—the world’s largest steel producer.
International Textile Group (ITG)
WL Ross & Co acquired and merged the bankrupt textile firms Burlington Industries and Cone Mills, both based in Greensboro, North Carolina, to establish the International Textile Group. In November 2003, WL Ross & Co took Burlington Industries private with a purchase price of approximately $614 million. The following year, it bought the assets of the insolvent Cone Mills Corp. for $90 million. In 2016, WL Ross & Co divested International Textile Group to Platinum Equity, a private equity firm. By December 31, 2017, operations at Cone Denim mills had fully ceased.
A 2005 article in Forbes highlighted that Ross's lobbying efforts were instrumental in advancing the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which lowered tariffs on textile and apparel imports to the United States, thereby influencing the competitive landscape for the group.
Invesco (2006-)
After being acquired by Invesco (formerly Amvescap) in 2006, WL Ross & Co has functioned as a subsidiary of this Atlanta-based investment management firm. Invesco oversees assets through multiple brands such as Invesco, Trimark, Invesco Perpetual, WL Ross, and Powershares. The company’s expansion has been supported by WL Ross & Co.'s expertise in corporate restructuring. Following the merger, the unified organization adopted the name Amvescap.
By January 2016, WL Ross & Co had become the largest shareholder in Navigator Holdings, a company specializing in liquefied gas shipping. In February 2013, Navigator issued common stock valued at $75 million to WL Ross & Co. Since November 2013, WLR Group—comprising WL Ross & Co and its affiliated investment funds—held rights to appoint two directors to Navigator’s board. Wilbur Ross served as chairman of Navigator Holdings Ltd., though he eventually stepped down from the board while maintaining his investment interests.
In November 2017, reports surfaced that Ross was divesting his holdings in Diamond S Shipping Group Inc. and Navigator Gas LLC. Diamond S Shipping, headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, operates medium-range tanker vessels under various national flags and constitutes a small portion of Ross’ overall wealth. Its fleet frequently operates in jurisdictions influenced by U.S. trade policies shaped by Ross.
Ross was a significant figure in the April 2017 trade agreement between the U.S. and China that enabled exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. to China following discussions between President Trump and President Xi Jinping. By mid-2017, the Commerce Department had approved LNG exports totaling 19.2 billion cubic feet per day to China and other nations.
An investigative report by American Public Media in November 2017 raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving Wendy Teramoto, a long-serving executive at WL Ross & Co., who simultaneously served on Navigator’s board while acting as chief of staff for Ross at the Commerce Department.
Lawsuits and legal challenges
In August 2016, WL Ross & Co. was accused by the SEC of imposing excessive fees on investors. The firm compensated $11.8 million and incurred a penalty of $2.3 million, all while rejecting any admission of wrongdoing.