CIVC Partners, previously known as Continental Illinois Venture Corporation, is a Chicago-based private equity firm that presently has over $1.3 billion of equity capital under management.[1] The firm's predecessor was established in 1970 as a subsidiary of Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company. CIVC Partners provides growth and buyout capital to middle-market companies engaged in business services, financial services, and marketing and information services.
When Continental Illinois was acquired in 1994 by Bank of America, the CIVC team formed a semi-independent private equity firm, CIVC Partners, with backing from Bank of America. Today, CIVC is an independent middle-market private equity firm with a diverse group of L.P. investors, and recently raised its fourth fund.
CIVC experienced difficulties in 2008 with its high profile investment in the Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (also known as FGIC), a bond insurer.[2] CIVC's major past and present investments include: LA Fitness, a health club operator; First Franklin, a sub-prime mortgage bank; The Brickman Group, a commercial landscaping company; Thermo Fluids, an environmental services company; KS Energy Services, a utility services provider; TransWestern Publishing, a publisher of yellow pages directories; Goldline International, a direct marketer of numismatic and bullion coins; and Wintrust Financial Corporation, a regional bank holding company.
