Friedman Fleischer & Lowe

Friedman Fleischer & Lowe (FFL) is an American private equity firm, founded in 1997 by Tully Friedman,[2] Spencer Fleischer,[3] David Lowe, and Christopher Masto.[4] The firm makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts and growth capital investments and is focused on investing in the U.S. middle-market.[5][6]

Friedman Fleischer & Lowe

Type	Private, LLC
Industry	Private Equity
Founded	1997 (1997)
Founder	Tully Friedman Spencer Fleischer David Lowe Christopher Masto
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, United States
Products	Leveraged buyout, Growth capital
AUM	N/A
Total assets	$4.6 billion[1]
Number of employees	30+ (2015)
Website	www.fflpartners.com

FFL has focused its efforts on several core target industries including healthcare services, financial services, business services, and consumer products. FFL is based in San Francisco and employs over 20 investment professionals. Since inception, FFL has raised approximately $4.6 billion of investor commitments.

History

Friedman Fleischer & Lowe previous logo

FFL was founded in 1997 by Tully Friedman, together with Spencer Fleischer, David Lowe, and Christopher Masto. Prior to founding FFL, in 1984, Tully Friedman had co-founded Hellman & Friedman, one of the largest private equity firms globally, with Warren Hellman. In contrast to Hellman &Friedman, FFL focuses on smaller, middle market deals.

Spencer Fleischer, was a former member of Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Operating Committee and the Head of Investment Banking in Asia, Head of Corporate Finance for Europe, Head of UK Corporate Finance, Head of Investment Banking in Los Angeles, and Head of Corporate Finance in San Francisco.[7] David Lowe was Chairman and CEO of medical equipment maker ADAC Laboratories.[8] Christopher Masto was a Bain & Company consultant and previously an investment banker at Morgan Stanley.[9][10]

Investment holdings

FFL invests through a series of private equity funds (structured as limited partnerships), and its investors include a variety of pension funds, endowments, and other institutional investors.

The firm's first private equity fund, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Capital Partners closed in September 1999 with $333 million of investor commitments.[11] Almost five years later, the firm completed raising $811 million of investor commitments for its second fund, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Capital Partners II in June 2004. In 2007, the firm raised its third investment fund, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Capital Partners III, with $1.5 billion of investor commitments.[12]

The following are among the firm's most notable current and previous portfolio companies:

• CapitalSource[13]
• CHI Overhead Doors[14][15]
• Church's Chicken[16]
• Discovery Foods[17]
• Geovera[18]
• Guardian Home Care[19][20]
• Korn/Ferry[21]
• Midwest Dental[22][23]
• Milestone AV Technologies[24]
• Tempur-Pedic[25]
• TriTech Software Systems[26]
• WellStreet[27]
• Wilton Re[28]

Rankings

HEC-Dow Jones's Private Equity Performance Ranking lists the world's top private equity firms in terms of aggregate performance and listed FFL for three years:

• Ranked #1 in 2012[29]
• Ranked #2 in 2011[30]
• Ranked #11 in 2010[31]

People

FFL's team consists of experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds in operational and strategic management, investment banking, private equity investing, and consulting. The firm’s principals have invested over $2.5 billion in over 50 companies and have over 100 years of collective experience as investors, senior operating executives, and advisors.

Investment Principals

• Tully M. Friedman:[32] Hellman & Friedman (Co-Founder); Salomon Brothers (Managing Director)
• Spencer Fleischer:[33] Morgan Stanley (Member of Investment Banking Operating Committee & Managing Director)
• Chris Masto:[34] Bain & Company; Morgan Stanley
• Rajat Duggal: Bain Capital; Kirkland & Ellis; Deloitte & Touche
• Nancy Graham Ford: Thomas H. Lee Partners; Goldman Sachs
• Aaron S. Money: DB Capital; Chase Securities
• Cas Schneller: GTCR; William Blair
• John Tudor: Bain Capital; Monitor Company

Operating Partners

• Robert A. Eckert[35]
• Bob Keegan:[36] Goodyear Tire (Chairman & CEO); Kodak (President, Consumer Imaging); Avery Dennison (Global Strategy Officer)
• Jeff Lane:[37][38] Boise Inc. (Senior Vice President & General Manager); McKinsey & Company (Managing Director)
• Rick Lenny:[39] The Hershey Company (Chairman, President & CEO); Nabisco Biscuit Company (President); Pillsbury North America (President)
• John Roach:[40] Builders FirstSource (Chairman, CEO and Founder); Fibreboard Corporation (Chairman, President & CEO); Johns Manville (CFO); Unidare US (Executive Chairman & CEO)
• Jack Scott:[41] Heidrick and Struggles (Managing Partner); Korn/Ferry (Partner)

See also

• List of venture capital firms

References

1. Capital raised since inception in 1997
2. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Tully Michael Friedman
3. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Spencer C. Fleischer
4. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Christopher A. Masto
5. FFL Completes Acquisition of Midwest Dental. Mergers & Acquisitions, April 18, 2011
6. Consistent performers shine through in annual private equity rankings. Financial News, November 5, 2012
7. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Spencer C. Fleischer
8. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: David Lowe
9. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Christopher A. Masto
10. Patience Pays Off For Friedman Fleischer & Lowe's Masto. Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst, November 23, 2011
11. S.F. buyout firm closing in on $150M cap for dedicated fund. October 4, 1999
12. Riding Sallie Mae Wave, Friedman Fleischer Plans New Fund. Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2007
13. Archived 2011-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
14. "Overhead Doors Built by C.H.I. Overhead Doors".
15. Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Completes Deal for Midwest Dental. Dow Jones LBO Wire, April 18, 2011
16. "Church's Chicken Sold". Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
18. Friedman Fleischer & Lowe and Hellman & Friedman Complete Acquisition of CATRisk Operation of St. Paul Travelers. Nov 2, 2005
19. "Oak Hill's AccentCare Buys Guardian Home Care From FFL". Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
20. "Guardian Home Health & Hospice".
21. "Korn Ferry | Organizational Consulting".
22. Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Completes Deal for Midwest Dental. Dow Jones LBO Wire, April 18, 2011
23. Friedman Fleischer Lowe Acquires Midwest Dental. Mergers & Acquisitions Report, April 7, 2011
24. "Professional AV Equipment and Devices | Legrand AV".
25. "Tempur-Pedic Official Website | Shop Tempur-Pedic Mattresses, Beds & More".
26. "Public Sector Software: Cloud-Based Platform | CentralSquare".
27. "WellStreet Urgent Care - Get Better Faster".
28. "Home".
30. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2013-02-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
31. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-02. Retrieved 2013-02-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
32. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Tully Michael Friedman
33. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Spencer C. Fleischer
34. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Christopher A. Masto
35. "Former Mattel Chief Robert Eckert Joins Friedman Fleischer & Lowe".
36. Q&A With Ex-Goodyear CEO Bob Keegan. Wall Street Journal Deal Journal, October 28, 2011
37. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Jeffrey Phillip Lane
38. Friedman Fleischer Adds Operating Partner. Dow Jones LBO Wire, June 23, 2011
39. Former Hershey Chief Joins Friedman Fleischer & Lowe. New York Times DealBook, May 16, 2012
40. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: John Roach
41. Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile: Jack Scott

• Sallie’s Fourth Horseman: Friedman Fleischer & Who?. Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2007
• Family Struggle, A Company's Fate. New York Times, December 2, 2001
• Former Hershey CHief Joins Friedman Fleischer Lowe. New York Times, May 16, 2011

External links

• Friedman Fleischer & Lowe (official website)