Leonard Green & Partners
John Danhakl & Jonathan Sokoloff, Managing Partners
Overview
Notable Funds
Description
Joann Fabrics (liquidated twice). MCW: IPO at $15, going private at $7 (63% decline). Prospect Medical: $1B+ liabilities.
Related Deals (13)
| Company | Sector | Year | Multiple | Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mister Car Wash | Car Wash | 2014 | 9x | 4x | active |
| Aspen Dental (TAG) | Dental | 2017 | 10x | 6.7x | active |
| Joann Fabrics | Retail | 2011 | 7x | 5x | bankrupt |
| Prospect Medical Holdings | Healthcare | 2010 | 8x | 6x | active |
| J.Crew | Retail | 2011 | 9x | 5.5x | bankrupt |
| David's Bridal | Retail | 2012 | 7x | 6x | bankrupt |
| US Renal Care | Healthcare | 2012 | 12x | 6x | active |
| Wrench Group | HVAC / Plumbing | 2016 | 10x | 6x | active |
| Petco (Dividend Recap Era) | Retail | 2010 | 9x | 6x | exited |
| BJ's Wholesale Club (Dividend Recap) | Retail | 2011 | 7x | 5x | exited |
| Aspen Dental Management (TAG - The Aspen Group) | Dental | 2017 | 10x | 6.7x | active |
| Petco (additional context — serial PE) | Retail | 2006 | 8x | 6x | exited |
| Advantage Solutions | Services / Marketing | 2014 | 12x | 6x | active |
Hot Potato Deals
Mister Car Wash
IPO at $15, peaked at $23.53, going private at $7. LGP owned 67% the whole time. Public market investors lost 50%+.
Going private at $7/share — 63% decline from IPO price
Petco
$600M → $1B → $1.8B → $4.6B. Four ownership cycles. Three IPOs. Each time more debt.
Trading well below IPO levels. Same business, exponentially more leverage.
J.Crew
TPG and Leonard Green took J.Crew private for $3B in 2011 with $1.6B in debt. Added more debt to fund Madewell. Creative direction suffered as PE demanded margin extraction. Couldn't invest in stores or brand. Filed Chapter 11 in May 2020 — the first major retailer to fall during COVID. Debt-to-equity swap wiped out TPG/LGP. Anchorage Capital and GSO took over. The iconic American brand reduced to a PE shell game. TPG and Leonard Green collected $124M in fees on a deal that destroyed $3B.
Emerged from bankruptcy 2020. Third PE cycle underway. Fraction of former scale.
Prospect Medical Holdings
Leonard Green invested in Prospect Medical and extracted $400M in dividends in 2019 — more than the entire equity investment. The hospital chain then deteriorated rapidly: equipment not maintained, staff not paid on time, patients transferred out. Multiple hospitals closed or are closing. Congressional investigation found Leonard Green 'enriched itself at the expense of patient care.' The playbook: invest, extract, walk away. Let patients and communities absorb the loss. Healthcare PE at its most destructive.
State and federal investigations. Hospitals closing. Leonard Green extracted $400M dividend while patients suffered.