 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private Equity |
| Founded | 2004; 21 years ago (2004) |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Menlo Park, California, U.S. |
| Products | Private equity funds |
| Total assets | US$1.9 billion |
Number of employees | 20+ |
| Website | www |
Elevation Partners was an Americanprivate equity firm that invested inintellectual property, technology and media companies. The firm had $1.9 billion ofassets under management. The firm was founded in 2004 and was headquartered inNew York City andMenlo Park, California. In the years 2012–2015, their assets were acquired by other companies, with portfolio under the name Elevation Partners closing in 2015. Some members of the board formed a company called "NextEquity Partners", which invests in similar sites. Rock musicianBono went on to co-found "The Rise Fund", dedicated to improving the United Nations' seven sectors of sustainable development.
Elevation Partners was founded by formerSilver Lake Partners professionalsRoger McNamee andMarc Bodnick, as well asFred Anderson (Apple Inc.) andJohn Riccitiello (Electronic Arts).[citation needed] Elevation is perhaps best known for its association withBono, lead singer of the musical groupU2, who joined the company shortly after its creation in 2004.[1] The firm is named after U2's song "Elevation".[2] As of January 2011 Marc Bodnick departed to concentrate on the development ofQuora.[citation needed] Elevation Partners is not affiliated in any way with The Elevation Group.
On March 22, 2005, as its first major venture Elevation attempted to purchaseEidos Interactive.[3] However, its bid failed and the video games giant was sold to rivalSCi Entertainment.[4] On November 3, 2005, Elevation invested $300 million to create an alliance between video game developersBioWare andPandemic Studios, placing them under VG Holding Corp. and making it one of the biggest independent developers in the world. It also invested $100 million inMove, Inc., which operates real estate information services.
In August 2006, Elevation announced that it had made an investment inForbes Media, the parent company ofForbes magazine and Forbes.com.[5] Sources stated that the deal gave Elevation a stake of more than 40 percent at a cost of $250 million to $300 million.[6][7] After Elevation invested in Forbes, the employee pension plan was frozen.[8] In the years that followed, there were numerous rounds of layoffs worldwide.[9] The Forbes family also sold its iconic building on Manhattan's5th Avenue toNew York University.[10]
On June 4, 2007 Elevation Partners announced an investment of $325 million (€242 million) for a 25 percent stake inPalm, Inc.[2] On December 22, 2008 the deal was followed up with an additional $100 million equity investment in Palm, and is made with newly issued preferred stock of convertible type.[7] On July 11, 2007 Elevation Partners acquiredSDI Media Group, the world's largest provider of subtitling and language dubbing service to the entertainment industry. Elevation purchased the company fromWarburg Pincus, theprivate equity firm that acquired SDI Media in 2004.[11] On October 11, 2007, it was announced that EA, now with Elevation founding partner John Riccitiello as CEO, had negotiated a deal with Elevation to pay US$860 million in order to acquire both Bioware and Pandemic Studios.[12][13] On April 16, 2010, Elevation Partners acquired 1% of the companyFacebook for $90 million.[14]
Through September 2014 the fund had generated an 11.4% annual return.[15]
On March 20, 2008, theAssociated Press published a story saying members of Elevation Partners had donated and raised more than a million dollars for theWikimedia Foundation, and were possibly examining a deeper relationship.[16]
