Francisco Partners
1. Francisco Partners was founded by Dave Stanton and he had a vision to create a leading buyout fund which was focused on the technology sector. He previously worked at Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and handled the investments in the technology sector. He started Francisco Partners by assembling a strong team with experienced people in the technology sector.
TPG was a generalist buyout firm and they were on track to raise a technology specific fund, and when that did not go through, Dave Stanton decided to start his own firm. He felt that by having a generalist approach the firm was not able to match up the changes and trends in the industry, and by having a technology specific firm he would have a competitive edge over competitors.
One of the major strengths for Francisco Partners was that the technology sector had witnessed high growth levels in the 1990s and that had attracted a lot of attention from investors in this sector. The sector had grown by four times the growth of the overall US economy and the average growth for the last fifteen years had exceeded 10% per year. It is shown in Exhibit 2 with commitments to Private Equity rising to a level of $85.3 billion in 1998. The other strong aspect of the firm was the team which Stanton had assembled. The team was highly experienced with an exceptional track record in technology sector investments. Also, Ben Ball and Neil Garfinkel had overseen deal teams that had invested over $298 million in 14 portfolio companies representing a combined enterprise value in excess of $1 billion. The impressive track record of the team would help the company, as sellers would show desire in working with the team and investors would be confident in investing in the firm. The relationship with Sequoia Capital was also a huge strength for the firm as Sequoia was one of the top venture capital firms in Silicon Valley and it would add a lot of credibility for Francisco Partners. The Sequoia Capital relationship will also give
TPG was a generalist buyout firm and they were on track to raise a technology specific fund, and when that did not go through, Dave Stanton decided to start his own firm. He felt that by having a generalist approach the firm was not able to match up the changes and trends in the industry, and by having a technology specific firm he would have a competitive edge over competitors.
One of the major strengths for Francisco Partners was that the technology sector had witnessed high growth levels in the 1990s and that had attracted a lot of attention from investors in this sector. The sector had grown by four times the growth of the overall US economy and the average growth for the last fifteen years had exceeded 10% per year. It is shown in Exhibit 2 with commitments to Private Equity rising to a level of $85.3 billion in 1998. The other strong aspect of the firm was the team which Stanton had assembled. The team was highly experienced with an exceptional track record in technology sector investments. Also, Ben Ball and Neil Garfinkel had overseen deal teams that had invested over $298 million in 14 portfolio companies representing a combined enterprise value in excess of $1 billion. The impressive track record of the team would help the company, as sellers would show desire in working with the team and investors would be confident in investing in the firm. The relationship with Sequoia Capital was also a huge strength for the firm as Sequoia was one of the top venture capital firms in Silicon Valley and it would add a lot of credibility for Francisco Partners. The Sequoia Capital relationship will also give