The standard playbook in private equity is to borrow, buy and cut costs ruthlessly. But a massive windfall from investments in PetSmart and Chewy has taught BC Partners Raymond Svider that sometimes, doubling down is a better option.
The standard playbook in private equity is to borrow, buy and cut costs ruthlessly. But a massive windfall from investments in Petsmart and Chewy has taught BC Partners’aymond Svider, chairman of private equity firm BC Partners, remembers the intense pressure he felt in the days leading up to Christmas in 2017. His firm’s biggest investment, the brick-and-mortar pet food retailer PetSmart, was flailing. Its antiquated technology needed an overhaul; costs were ballooning.
At the time, Svider was bucking almost every business and investing convention. A leveraged buyout artist raised in Paris, with a master’s degree in electrical engineering from one of France’s “” and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Svider, now 59, was working double duty—two days a week stewarding the $40 billion PE firm, three days at 1,650-store PetSmart, for which BC paid $8.7 billion in 2014.
Starting with an offer of $1 billion, Svider wound up paying $3 billion in cash for Chewy, beating out rival Petco, in April 2017. Skeptics howled, its bonds tumbled and lawsuits flew. But four years and a pandemic-inspired pet boom have turned Svider’s rulebreaking gambit into one of the biggest private equity scores ever.
A self-taught investor, Svider got his start after the go-go 1980s’ leveraged buyout craze. In 1989, he was recruited out of graduate school by legendary dealmakers Bruce Wasserstein and Joe Perella. Three years later, he moved to the Paris office of Baring Capital Investors, a small buyout arm attached to London-based Barings Bank.
The firm’s first major deal in the U.S. that year was a $16 billion takeover of indebted satellite operator Intelsat, which promptly became troubled and would file for bankruptcy protection in 2020. Svider’s hits, though, have far exceeded his misses.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
How Linda Alvarado Went From Manual Labor To Becoming One Of America’s Richest Self-Made WomenI'm an assistant editor at Forbes covering money and markets. Before joining Forbes, I worked at NextEra Energy, Inc. developing and implementing successful media relations and public relations campaigns in the energy industry. I graduated from Stetson University with a degree in Finance, and have a master's degree in Journalism and International Relations from New York University, where I worked as a staff writer for Latin America News Dispatch and New York Magazine's Bedford + Bowery.
Les mer »
The 3-step plan that helped this mom lose 103 pounds in 11 monthsBridget Nieves makes space in her diet for the foods she loves — even cookies and ice cream.
Les mer »
Take A Look At How Chewy Is Using Augmented RealityChewy trys out augmented reality for its full-body-pet try on for Halloween.
Les mer »
Take A Look At How Chewy Is Using Augmented RealtyChewy trys out augmented reality for its full-body-pet try on for Halloween.
Les mer »
How to clean a wooden cutting board - and whether it's safe to chop raw meat on themLearning the ropes of food hygiene can be difficult for any amateur cook, but knowing how to clean your chopping boards after cutting fresh or raw food is crucial.
Les mer »
A Restaurant Critic’s Take on ‘Ratatouille’: The Restaurant Critic Was the Real Hero“Yes, Ego’s office is shaped like a coffin and he says things like, “I love food. If I don’t love it; I don’t swallow.” But the critic, alongside criticism as an institution, actually ends up being a savior in the film.” — qualityrye
Les mer »