- Chicago Growth Partners
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Chicago Growth Partners 
Type Private Industry Private equity Founded 2004 (1982, William Blair Capital Partners) Headquarters New York, New York, United States Products Leveraged buyout, Growth capital Total assets $1.8 billion Website www.cgp.com Chicago Growth Partners (formerly known as William Blair Capital Partners) is a private equity firm focused on growth capital investments in middle-market companies across a range of industries.
The firm, which is based in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in 2004 although the group traces its roots back to the founding of William Blair Capital Partners in 1982. The Chicago Growth Partners and its predecessor have raised approximately $1.8 billion since inception across nine funds. The team had raised and deployed six funds as the core group behind William Blair Capital Partners.[1] William Blair Capital Partners VII, which closed in 2001 with $403 million was the final fund raised within the William Blair Capital Partners platform.
History
William Blair Capital Partners was founded in 1982 to serve as the investment arm of William Blair & Company. During the 1980s, WBCP was an active investor in leveraged buyout transactions.
William Blair Capital Partners logo
In 2004, the senior partners of William Blair Capital Partners completed a spin out from William Blair to form a new firm, Chicago Growth Partners.[1] The primary motivation for the departure of the Chicago Growth Partners team from William Blair was to gain access to a more diversified base of institutional investors that was limited by the group's involvement with the investment bank.
The spinout of Chicago Growth Partners from William Blair & Company came at the same time as the spinouts of private equity groups from other leading investment banks including: JPMorgan Chase (CCMP Capital), Citigroup (Court Square Capital Partners), Deutsche Bank (MidOcean Partners), Morgan Stanley (Metalmark Capital) and Credit Suisse First Boston (Avista Capital Partners, Diamond Castle Holdings).
In August 2006, the remaining partners of William Blair Capital Partners suspended efforts to raise William Blair Capital Partners VIII, which had been reportedly targeted at about $250 million. The remaining team left William Blair to found a new private equity firm, Seyen Capital.[2]
In April 2008, Chicago Growth Capital completed fundraising for its second fund as an independent firm with $500 million of investor commitments[3][4][5]
References
- ^ a b Chicago Growth Grows But Retains Smaller Focus. Reuters Buyouts, April 14, 2008
- ^ *Blair, Lazard PE Groups Disband. Reuters Buyouts, August 7, 2006
- ^ Chicago firm doubles in size. PE Week, April 21, 2008
- ^ PE firms continue to rake in cash. The Deal, April 2, 2008
- ^ Private Equity Team Leaves William Blair, Sets Up Own Shop. FINalternatives, August 4, 2006
- Chicago Growth Partners. Business Week Profile
- Chicago Growth Partners Graduates with Honors. Business Wire, June 4 2007
- Chicago Growth Begins Laying Fundraising Foundation. Reuters Buyouts, June 11, 2007
External links
- Chicago Growth Partners (company website)
Private equity and venture capital investment firms Investment strategy 
History History of private equity and venture capital · Early history of private equity · Private equity in the 1980s · Private equity in the 1990s · Private equity in the 2000sInvestors Institutional Investors · Pension funds · Insurance companies · Endowments · Investment Banks · Merchant banks · Fund of funds · High net worth individuals · Angel investors · Family offices · Sovereign wealth fundsPrivate equity firms · Venture capital firms · Portfolio companiesMerchant banking private equity groups (current and prior) ABN Amro: AAC Capital Partners · Bank of America: BAML Capital Partners · Barclays Capital: Barclays Private Equity · Bear Stearns: Irving Place Capital (fka BSMB) · CIBC World Markets: Trimaran Capital Partners · Citigroup: Metalmark Capital · Court Square Capital Partners · CVC Capital Partners · Credit Suisse: DLJ Merchant Banking · Avista Capital Partners · Diamond Castle Holdings · Deutsche Bank: MidOcean Partners · First Chicago Bank (defunct): Madison Dearborn Partners · GTCR · Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs Capital Partners · JPMorgan Chase: CCMP Capital (fka JPMorgan Partners) · One Equity Partners · Lazard: Lazard Alternative Investments · Lehman Brothers (defunct): Trilantic Capital Partners · Morgan Stanley: Metalmark Capital · Morgan Stanley Capital Partners · UBS: UBS Capital · Affinity Equity Partners · Capvis · Lightyear Capital · Wells Fargo: Norwest Venture Partners · Pamlico Capital · William Blair & Company: Chicago Growth Partners · William Blair Capital Partners
List of investment banking private equity groupsCategories:- Private equity firms of the United States
- Companies established in 2004
- Companies based in Chicago, Illinois
- Investment banking private equity groups
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