GP Investments

GP Investments, Ltd

Type	Public Held Company
Traded as	BM&F Bovespa: GPIV11
Industry	Private equity
Founded	1993
Headquarters	São Paulo, Brazil Hamilton, Bermuda
Key people	Antonio Bonchristiano, (CEO), Fersen Lambranho, (CEO)
Products	Investments in four main asset classes: private equity, real estate, infrastructure and liquid investments
Revenue	US$ 78 million (2012)
Net income	US$ 10 million (2012)
Total assets	US$ 982 million (2012)
Number of employees	75
Website	www.gp.com.br

GP Investments (also GP Investimentos), is a leading alternative investment firm in Latin America with a strong presence in asset management, principally private equity funds. The firm's shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and trade on BM&FBovespa, the Brazilian Stock Exchange, via Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDRs).

Since its foundation in 1993, GP Investments has raised US$5 billion from investors worldwide and has completed investments in more than 50 companies in 15 different industries.

GP Investments is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. The firm also has offices in São Paulo, Brazil, New York, USA, and Zurich, Switzerland.

History

1993 to 2005

GP Investments was founded in 1993 to focus on investments in Latin America, what was at that point a nascent market in private equity.

In 1994, GP raised its first investment fund with US$500 million of investor capital which it followed up with its US$800 million successor fund, GP Capital Partners II, in 1997.

In 2001, the firm completed fundraising for its first local private equity fund raising R$130 million to focus on technology investments. In 2003, the current executive partners, Antonio Bonchristiano and Fersen Lambranho assumed the leadership of the firm as part of a natural succession plan and the following year they completed the acquisition of 100% control of GP Investments.

Since 2005

By the mid-2000s, GP was once again growing rapidly. In 2005, the firm, under its new leadership, was able to raise its third private equity fund, GP Capital Partners III, which closed on US$250 million of investor capital in 2005.

The firm underwent a novel structural change in 2006, selling shares to the public to raise permanent capital for future transactions. That year, GP completed a US$308 million initial public offering, listing its shares on the capital markets and becoming the first listed private equity company in Latin America. The firm has used the capital to make investments on behalf of the firm's balance sheet alongside its family of private equity investment funds.^[1][2] The following year, in 2007, the firm raised its largest fund to date with US$1.3 billion of capital as interest in emerging markets and the BRIC countries increased dramatically.^[3] Also in 2007, the firm was able to raise US$190 million of debt through an offering of perpetual notes, followed in 2008 by a US$232 million follow-on equity offering which increased its permanent capital base.^[4][5]

After raising GP Capital Partners V in 2010, with total commitments of US$1.1 billion, the company has also investments in real estate and infrastructure, beyond its original private equity focus and in addition to its direct and controlling stake in BRZ Investimentos, an asset management subsidiary.

In 2013, more investments were made. On February, GP Investments has announced a capital invested increase in Empresa Brasileira de Agregados Mineirais,^[6] company from the mineral aggregates market. In May, the firm bought a stake in Apen,^[7] a Swiss investment company. One more transaction occurred in late June: GP Investments acquired one-third of Beleza Natural,^[8] a Brazilian beauty institute chain.

Investments

The firm invests across a range of industries in Latin America, with bigger focus in Brazil. Among the firm's most notable current investments are:

• BHG - Brazilian Hospitality Group
• Magnesita^[9]
• San Antonio
• Centauro
• APEN
• Beleza Natural

References

External links

• GP Investments (company website)

Private equity and venture capital
Basic investment types	Buyout Venture Mezzanine Growth Secondaries Equity co-investment
History	History of private equity and venture capital Early history of private equity Private equity in the 1980s Private equity in the 1990s Private equity in the 2000s
Terms and concepts	Buyout Financial sponsor Management buyout Divisional buyout Buy–sell agreement Leveraged recapitalization Dividend recapitalization Venture Angel investor Business incubator Post-money valuation Pre-money valuation Seed money Startup company Venture capital financing Venture debt Venture round Structure Private equity firms and funds Limited partnership Limited liability company Carried interest Management fee Publicly traded private equity Business Development Company Venture capital trust Private investment in public equity (PIPE) Pledge fund
Investors	Corporations Institutional investors Pension funds Insurance companies Fund of funds Endowments Foundations Investment banks Merchant banks Commercial banks High-net-worth individuals Family offices Sovereign wealth funds Crowdfunding
Related financial terms	AUM Cap table Capital call Capital commitment Capital structure Distribution waterfall EBITDA Envy ratio High-yield debt IPO IRR Leverage Liquidation preference M&A PME Taxation of private equity and hedge funds Undercapitalization Vintage year
Private equity and venture capital investors Private equity firms Venture capital firms Angel investors Portfolio companies