Blum Capital Partners, L.P., also known as Blum Capital, is an American private equity firm founded in 1975 by Richard C. Blum. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE investments in small cap and middle-market companies. Blum Capital became known for pioneering a hybrid strategy for investing in public companies, combining private equity and strategic block investment.
History Prior to founding his eponymous firm, Richard C. Blum worked at Sutro & Co., an investment management and brokerage company. While working at Sutro & Co., he led a partnership that acquired the struggling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967, for $8 million. The Circus was then sold to Mattel Inc. for $50 million, in 1971.
Blum founded Blum Capital in 1975. As of 2011, Blum Capital managed $2.73 billion in stocks and investments.
Significant investments for Blum Capital have come from Fair Isaac,Blum buys larger stake in Fair, Isaac. San Francisco Business Times, October 10, 2000 Lenovo,Hardware: Equity Stake In Lenovo; The New York Times, March 31, 2005 DHL Airways,DEUTSCHE POST TO SELL STAKE IN DHL AIRWAYS; The New York Times; May 22, 2003. and CB Richard Ellis.CB Richard Ellis to Expand In New York With Acquisition; The New York Times, February 19, 2003.Investors to Buy Real Estate Company; The New York Times, February 26, 2001.INVESTORS SEEK REMAINING SHARES OF CB RICHARD ELLIS; The New York Times, November 14, 2000.
In 1994, Blum Capital entered into a joint venture, Newbridge Capital, with Texas Pacific Group and ACON Investments to invest in Asia and Latin America.
Investments After the 2008 financial crisis, the firm sustained major financial losses in its real estate investments. Its investment into CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE)—into which Blum Capital had invested over the previous 30 years, helping to take the company public—decreased by about 37% amid "global economic concerns that impacted real estate markets".
In June 2011, Blum Capital had a $1.87 billion stock portfolio, which had decreased 36%, to about $1.19 billion, by November 2011. Six of the firm's seven-largest public stock investments had also lost "at least 22% of their value" in the same five-month period.
On October 9, 2012, Wolverine World Wide, Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital took over Collective Brands.
On March 26, 2015, it was announced that Blum Capital and FRHI Hotels & Resorts will acquire 88% of the shares of the Grand del Mar Resort in San Diego.
References
External links "Richard Blum: The man behind URS, next to Sen. Feinstein" San Francisco Chronicle, 2003. "Richard Blum hones art of upping shareholder value" Bloomberg News; August 4, 2002. "Australia: Bid For Pub Owner". The New York Times, September 29, 2004. "Gore and Investors Buy Cable News Channel". The New York Times, May 5, 2004.
External links Blum Capital (company website)