Hellman & Friedman

History

Founding

Before founding H&F in 1984 alongside Tully Friedman, Warren Hellman worked in investment banking at Lehman Brothers. Later, he became a founding partner of Hellman, Ferri Investment Associates, which, renamed Matrix Partners, is currently one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Friedman was a former managing director at Salomon Brothers who, in 1997, left the company to found Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, a private equity firm also based in San Francisco.

Recent

In August 2013, it acquired Canada's largest insurance broker, Hub International, for around $4.4 billion. In March 2014, the firm acquired Renaissance Learning, a firm providing assessment methods such as electronic tests that adapt questions in real time depending on how successfully the student is answering, for $1.1 billion in cash.

In February 2015, it was announced that Hellman & Friedman were putting together a takeover bid for used car company Auto Trader, which could amount to an offer of £2 billion. On May 18, 2017, H&F made a A$2.9 billion bid for Fairfax Media in Australia, starting a bidding war with TPG Group for the company.

In May 2016, H&F agreed to a deal to acquire the healthcare cost management company MultiPlan Inc. for about $7.5 billion. In June 2018, it was announced that Hellman & Friedman were taking a controlling interest in the security monitoring company, SimpliSafe.

In February 2019, it was announced that Hellman & Friedman purchased Ultimate Software for $11 billion, an all-cash transaction. Ultimate Software has since been combined with Kronos Incorporated, and rolled into the brand Ultimate Kronos Group.

In December, Hellman & Friedman acquired AutoScout24, a European automotive digital marketplace, for €2.9 billion from Scout24. In 2020, H&F joined Diligent Corporation's Modern Leadership Initiative and pledged to create five new board roles among its portfolio companies for racially diverse candidates.

In July 2021, it was announced that Hellman & Friedman purchased At Home. In November, H&F and Bain Capital agreed to buy Athenahealth for $17 Billion.

In March 2022, Hellman & Friedman acquired a 7.5% stake in software solutions company Splunk. The stake was valued at $1.4 billion, making it the largest shareholder.

On April 1, 2025, it supported the merger of accounting and consulting firms Baker Tilly and , in a transaction that created one of the largest multidisciplinary professional services firms in the U.S. As part of the deal, H&F made an additional strategic investment in Baker Tilly to support the combined entity's long-term growth.

Also in April, Hellman & Friedman joined CVC Capital Partners in a strategic investment in , a Finnish private provider of healthcare and social care services. As part of the transaction, Mehiläinen also announced agreements to acquire Romanian healthcare provider and Serbian network MediGroup, expanding its presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

Notable holdings

A core element in H&F's strategy is investing in "growth" opportunities whether in an industry sector or a specific company. H&F invests in a variety of structures, frequently making minority investments with only limited controls. Additionally, H&F has taken a number of unconventional steps to finance and close transactions, including arranging and syndicating the financing for several investments including Getty Images and Goodman Global.

Since closing its sixth private equity fund in 2007, H&F has been active in making new investments:

• DoubleClick
• Goodman Global
• Gartmore
• Texas Genco
• GCM Grosvenor
• Nielsen Company
• Nasdaq
• Internet Brands
• PPD
• UKG
• HUB International Ltd
• Mehiläinen

Investment funds

H&F 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:

• 1984 – Hellman & Friedman I
• 1991 – Hellman & Friedman II ($826 million)
• 1995 – Hellman & Friedman III ($1.5 billion)
• 2000 – Hellman & Friedman IV ($2.2 billion)
• 2004 – Hellman & Friedman V ($3.5 billion)
• 2007 – Hellman & Friedman VI ($8.4 billion)
• 2011 – Hellman & Friedman VII ($8.8 billion)
• 2014 – Hellman & Friedman VIII ($10.9 billion)
• 2018 – Hellman & Friedman IX ($16.5 billion)
• 2021 – Hellman & Friedman X ($24.4 billion)
• 2024 – Hellman & Friedman XI ($22.3 billion) :Source: Preqin

References

References

1. "Hellman & Friedman LLC | AUM 13F".
2. "Bloomberg Business". Bloomberg.com.
3. [http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/2003/march/profile.html A Casual Approach to Success: Warren Hellman] (Harvard Business School Bulletin)
4. "2024 PEI 300 by Private Equity International - Infogram".
5. "The CJM {{!}} Hardly Strictly Warren Hellman".
6. (2011-12-18). "Warren Hellman, Haas Board Member and San Francisco Financier, Passes Away".
7. "Tully Friedman P’17,’17 {{!}} St. Paul's School".
8. Meikle, Brad. (2007-02-05). "1997: Friedman Leaves Hellman".
9. Greg Roumeliotis and Tanya Agrawal. (August 5, 2013). "Hellman & Friedman agrees to acquire Hub in $4.4 billion deal". Reuters.
10. (March 13, 2014). "Hellman & Friedman pays $1.1 billion for Renaissance Learning". Reuters.
11. (February 2015). "Private equity firm Hellman in Auto Trader bid". City A.M..
12. Smith, Jamie. (May 18, 2017). "Private equity bidding war erupts over Fairfax". [[Financial Times]].
13. "Private equity closes in on $7.5bn deal for MultiPlan".
14. "Hellman & Friedman deal values SimpliSafe at $1B – TechCrunch".
15. "Ultimate Software - Ultimate Software Announces Agreement to be Acquired by an Investor Group Led by Hellman & Friedman to Operate as a Privately Held Company".
16. (August 28, 2020). "Kronos and Ultimate Software Unveil Plans to Rebrand as "UKG"".
17. [https://www.reuters.com/article/scout24-ag-ma-idUSL8N28R5EF "Scout24 sells AutoScout24 to Hellman & Friedman,"] Reuters, December 17, 2019.
18. Gara, Antoine. "Inside The Massive New Effort To Get Minorities On Corporate Boards".
19. "Modern Governance Requires Modern Leadership".
20. (July 23, 2021). "Hellman & Friedman Completes Acquisition of At Home".
21. (November 22, 2021). "H&F, Bain Capital tap into health tech boom with $17 bln Athenahealth deal".
22. (2022-03-05). "스플렁크, 약세장 속 강보합 선전…사모펀드가 지분 7.5% 인수".
23. (2025-04-28). "Baker Tilly and Moss Adams to merge in deal valued at $7-billion".
24. Canning, Sarah. (2025-04-22). "Baker Tilly and Moss Adams to Combine in a Strategic Merger {{!}} IPA".
25. "CVC-backed Mehiläinen secures EUR 2bn in equity funding and welcomes Hellman & Friedman as a new shareholder".
26. "Regina Maria exit sees MidEuropa hand reins to Mehiläinen and attract Hellman & Friedman as new backer".
27. [https://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/02/25/thinking-outside-the-box-in-the-getty-deal/ Financing without banks] (WSJ.com, February 25, 2008)
28. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE7D61231F935A15757C0A9639C8B63&scp=2&sq=hellman+%26+friedman&st=nyt DoubleClick Agrees To Be Acquired By Hellman & Friedman] (''[[New York Times]]'', 2005)
29. [http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0710170/071220hfcp.pdf Closing Letter to Counsel for Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners] (Federal Trade Commission)
30. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/business/23deal.html?scp=3&sq=hellman+%26+friedman&st=nyt Maker of Heating Systems Is Bought for $1.8 Billion] (''[[New York Times]]'', October 23, 2007)
31. Europe: Britain: Hedge Fund Manager Acquired] (''[[New York Times]]'', 2006)
32. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/23/business/23place.html?scp=8&sq=hellman+%26+friedman&st=nyt The Deal That Even Awed Them in Houston] (''[[New York Times]]'', November 23, 2005)
33. [http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/hellman-friedman-to-take-stake-in-grosvenor/ Hellman to Take Stake in Grosvenor] (''[[New York Times]]'', 2007)
34. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E0DA143FF934A25752C0A9609C8B63 Buyout Bid For Parent Of Nielsen] (''[[New York Times]]'', 2006)
35. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E7D7173FF93AA15750C0A9679C8B63&scp=20&sq=hellman+%26+friedman&st=nyt Firm Pays $240 Million For 9.8% Stake in Nasdaq] (''[[New York Times]]'', 2001)
36. "Internet Brands announcement".
37. "Pharmaceutical Product Development - PPD to be Acquired by the Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman".
38. Meikle, Brad. (2013-10-03). "Hellman & Friedman's $4.4 bln buy of Canadian-born Hub completed".
39. [https://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSN1742087720070417 Hellman & Friedman closes $8.4 bln equity fund] (Reuters, 2007)
40. (2009). "Hellman Friedman announces final close of 88 billion private equity fund - firm implements management transition plan". PR Newswire.
41. Chassany, Anne-Sylvain. (November 9, 2014). "Hellman & Friedman amasses $11bn for new fund". [[Financial Times]].
42. 조선비즈. (2021-07-22). "“한국계 대표가 이끄는 美 칼라일그룹, 사모펀드 사상 최대규모 펀드 조성 추진”".
43. Witkowsky, Chris. (2024-04-09). "Hellman & Friedman holds final close on flagship on more than $22bn".
44. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050618025100/http://www.prequin.com/ Preqin]
45. "About - Hellman & Friedman". Hellman & Friedman.