Fox Paine & Company
 | |
| Company type | Private Ownership |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private Equity |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Saul A. Fox |
| Headquarters | Woodside, California, United States |
| Total assets | $1.5 billion |
| Website | www |
Fox Paine & Company is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout transactions. Fox Paine & Company, LLC was founded in 1997 by former Kohlberg Kravis Roberts partner Saul A. Fox and former Kohlberg & Co. partner W. Dexter Paine III. In 2007, the firm formalized a year-long separation process, with Saul Fox retaining the firm's name, while Dexter Paine formed a new firm, Paine & Partners, with the legacy Fox Paine investment team.[1]
The firm primarily invests in financial services and insurance companies, with investments in semiconductors, agribusiness, healthcare, energy, telecommunications, industrials and consumer goods.
Fox Paine is headquartered in Woodside, California.
History
Prior to founding Fox Paine in 1997, Fox had been a partner at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, while Paine had been an investment banker and private equity investor at San Francisco-based Robertson Stephens and later Kohlberg & Co. The two partners had been encouraged to work together given their previous business dealings. In 1985, Dexter Paine had helped Saul Fox arrange financing for the leveraged buyout of Motel 6, while at KKR.
In 1998, Fox Paine completed fundraising for Fox Paine Capital Fund, an investment fund with $500 million of investor commitments. In 2001, the firm successfully raised Fox Paine Capital Fund II, a $1.0 billion investment fund, exceeding its original $750 million target.[2]
The following is a selected list of notable investments made by Fox Paine:
- Alaska Communications Systems[3]
- Erno Laszlo / Cradle Holdings
- L'Artisan Parfumeur
- Penhaligon's
- Seminis [4]
- Stabilus[5]
- United National[6]
- Watkins-Johnson Company[7]
In 2005, the two partners disagreed about the raising of a third investment fund, with Dexter Paine pushing the effort and Saul Fox preferring to focus on existing investments. In 2006, they reached an agreement that let Dexter Paine launch what became known as the Fox Paine Capital Fund III, without Saul Fox's active involvement while paying Fox a 25% interest in the new fund's general partnership. The situation broke down in 2007 and the two partners resorted to litigation to settle a number of disputes.
In December 2007, Fox and Paine came to a compromise under which Saul Fox retained the use of the Fox Paine name and control over the investments in Fox Paine Fund II. In return, Saul Fox ceded his interest in Fox Paine Fund III, which would subsequently be renamed Paine Capital Fund III as well as the remaining legacy interest in the original Fox Paine Capital Fund.[1][8]
In August 2016, Saul A. Fox held a private fundraiser at his Woodside home in California for Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump.[9]
See also
References
- ^ a b Harris, Jennifer. "Fox, Paine settle out of court." Private Equity Online, December 14, 2007
- ^ Clifford Carlsen "Fox Paine's sequel fund looks to beat the original." San Francisco Business Times, June 9, 2000
- ^ "Company News: Century Telephone to Sell Alaska Operations." The New York Times, August 18, 1998
- ^ Pollack, Andrew. "Monsanto Buying Leader in Fruit and Vegetable Seeds." The New York Times, January 25, 2005
- ^ Craig, Catherine "Paine does first European deal since founder departure." Dow Jones eFinancial News, February 15, 2008.
- ^ "Company News: Insurer Plans to Raise $230 million in Offering." The New York Times, September 18, 2003
- ^ "Company News: Fox-Paine to Buy Watkins-Johnson for $270 million." The New York Times, October 27, 1999
- ^ Anders, George (September 15, 2007). "Bitter End of a Partnership". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
- ^ Louie, David (2016-08-29). "Donald Trump wraps up fundraiser in Woodside". Retrieved 2016-08-30.
Other works
- Green, Leslie. "For Saul Fox, Bigger Isn’t Always Better in the World of Buyouts." Buyouts, May 15, 2000
- "Fox Paine & Co. Has Become Fox Vs. Paine." Buyouts, September 24, 2007
External links
- Fox Paine (company website)