Clearlake Capital
Generated by GPT-5-miniExpansion Funnel Raw 72 → Dedup 0 → NER 0 → Enqueued 0
| Clearlake Capital | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Clearlake Capital |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founders | José E. Feliciano; Behdad Eghbali; Steven F. Bensinger |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California |
| Products | Leveraged buyouts, Growth capital |
| Assets | ">$40 billion (2024)" |
| Website | "clearlake.com" |
Clearlake Capital is an American private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital and special situations investments across technology, industrials, and consumer sectors. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the firm has grown through multiple flagship funds, strategic acquisitions, and a partner-led operational model. Clearlake has been active in buyouts and take-private transactions involving public companies, family-owned businesses, and carve-outs from multinational corporations such as General Electric and IBM.
History
Clearlake traces its origin to industry veterans who previously worked at Oak Hill Capital, Apax Partners, and GTCR. Founders included alumni with experience at Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital. Early transactions involved deals with sellers such as The Carlyle Group portfolio companies and Bain Capital carve-outs. The firm's expansion paralleled the growth of mid-market private equity activity led by peers like KKR, Blackstone Group, Apollo Global Management, and Warburg Pincus. Clearlake opened additional offices to compete in regional markets alongside firms such as Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, and later executed cross-border deals with partners including KKR and CVC Capital Partners.
Investment Strategy and Funds
Clearlake employs a "buy-and-build" strategy emphasizing operational improvements led by executives with backgrounds from General Electric's John F. Welch era, Procter & Gamble brand managers, and McKinsey & Company consultants. The firm raises closed-end private equity funds similar to vehicles raised by Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman, and Advent International. Primary fund vintages track fundraising cycles seen at Blackstone Group and Silver Lake Partners. Clearlake targets sectors including software—competing with Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners—as well as industrial businesses akin to investments by CVC Capital Partners and Permira. Its strategy combines leveraged finance techniques familiar from Goldman Sachs syndicates and JPMorgan Chase debt underwriting with operational playbooks drawn from Danaher Corporation and 3G Capital.
Notable Acquisitions and Portfolio Companies
Clearlake's transaction history includes take-private deals and carve-outs that involved collaboration or competition with firms such as KKR and TPG Capital. Notable portfolio companies include transactions in software with firms reminiscent of acquisitions by Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners, hardware and industrial deals similar to investments by Carlyle Group and Ardian, and consumer transactions parallel to L Catterton investments. The firm has been involved in acquisitions from sellers such as General Electric, IBM, Siemens, and Honeywell International. Specific portfolio companies have operated alongside peers like Epicor Software Corporation, SAS Institute, Zendesk, ServiceNow, NetSuite, McAfee, Symantec, Autodesk, and Dassault Systèmes within competitive landscapes. Clearlake has also participated in consortium bids with investors including Silver Lake Partners, Thoma Bravo, and Insight Partners.
Management and Key Personnel
The firm was co-founded by partners with prior experience at Oak Hill Capital, Apax Partners, and GTCR and has senior executives who previously held leadership roles at General Electric and Procter & Gamble. Senior investment professionals frequently come from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch merchant banking groups. Advisory board members and operating partners have backgrounds similar to executives from Danaher Corporation, Intel Corporation, Microsoft, Amazon (company), and Cisco Systems. Clearlake's governance model resembles the partner-led structures of Blackstone Group and Bain Capital, while employing operating partners drawn from McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group.
Litigation, Controversies, and Regulatory Matters
Clearlake's activities have intersected with regulatory and litigation environments involving agencies and counterparties such as U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and foreign regulators comparable to European Commission antitrust review processes. Transactions involving divisions of General Electric, Siemens, and IBM have required customary regulatory filings and occasional litigation resembling disputes seen in cases involving Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Apollo Global Management. The firm has navigated creditor negotiations similar to restructurings handled by Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. High-profile contested bids in which Clearlake or its partners engaged have mirrored public takeover fights involving Carl Icahn and Elliott Management.