Elevation Partners
Encyclopedia
Elevation Partners is an American private equity
firm that invests in intellectual property
and media and entertainment companies. The firm has $1.9 billion of assets under management
.
The firm was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in New York City
and San Francisco. It has approximately 20 investment professionals and other employees.
professionals Roger McNamee
and Marc Bodnick, as well as Fred Anderson
(Apple Inc.) and John Riccitiello
(Electronic Arts
).
Elevation is perhaps best known for its association with Bono
, lead singer of the musical group U2
, who joined the company shortly after its creation in 2004. The firm is named after U2's song "Elevation
".
As of January 2011 Marc Bodnick departed to concentrate on the development of Quora
.
. However, its bid failed and the video games giant was sold to rival SCi Entertainment.
On November 3, 2005, Elevation invested $300 million to create an alliance between video game developers BioWare
and Pandemic Studios
, making it one of the biggest independent developers in the world. It also invested $100 million in Move, Inc., which operates real estate information services.
In August 2006, Elevation announced that it had made an investment in Forbes Media, the parent company of Forbes magazine and Forbes.com. Sources stated that the deal gave Elevation a stake of more than 40 percent at a cost of $250 million to $300 million. After Elevation invested in Forbes, the employee pension plan was frozen.. In the years that followed, there were numerous rounds of layoffs worldwide. The Forbes family also sold its iconic building on Manhattan's 5th Avenue to New York University.
On June 4, 2007 Elevation Partners announced an investment of $325m (€242m) for a 25 percent stake in Palm, Inc.
. On December 22, 2008 the deal was followed up with an additional $100 million equity investment in Palm, and is made with newly issued preferred stock of convertible type.
On July 11, 2007 Elevation Partners acquired SDI Media Group
, the world's largest provider of subtitling and language dubbing service to the entertainment industry. Elevation purchased the company from Warburg Pincus
, the private equity firm
that acquired SDI Media in 2004.
On October 11, 2007, it was announced that EA had negotiated a deal with Elevation to pay $860 million (USD) in order to acquire both Bioware and Pandemic Studios.
On April 16, 2010 Elevation Partners acquired 1% of the company Facebook
for $90 Million.
published a story saying members of Elevation Partners had donated and raised more than a million dollars for the Wikimedia Foundation
, and may be examining a deeper relationship.
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm that invests in intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
and media and entertainment companies. The firm has $1.9 billion of assets under management
Assets under management
Assets under management is a financial term used denote the market value of funds being managed by a financial instutition on behalf of its clients, investors, depositors, etc. This metric is a sign of size and success against competition...
.
The firm was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and San Francisco. It has approximately 20 investment professionals and other employees.
Founding
Elevation Partners was founded by former Silver Lake PartnersSilver Lake Partners
Silver Lake is a US-based private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in technology, technology-enabled and related industries...
professionals Roger McNamee
Roger McNamee
Roger McNamee is a founding partner of the venture capital firm Elevation Partners. Prior to co-founding the firm McNamee co-founded private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and headed the T...
and Marc Bodnick, as well as Fred Anderson
Fred D. Anderson
See Fred Anderson for others with similar names.Fred D. Anderson is an American business executive known for his time with Apple Inc. and as a managing director and co-founder of Elevation Partners.-Biography:...
(Apple Inc.) and John Riccitiello
John Riccitiello
John Riccitiello is the CEO of Electronic Arts .He received his Bachelors of Science degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley....
(Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
).
Elevation is perhaps best known for its association with Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, lead singer of the musical group U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, who joined the company shortly after its creation in 2004. The firm is named after U2's song "Elevation
Elevation (song)
"Elevation" is the third track and third single release from U2's 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. Featuring a thunderous beat, a variety of sound effects on the central guitar riff, and an easy rhyming lyric for the audience to shout along with, it was highly effective in its...
".
As of January 2011 Marc Bodnick departed to concentrate on the development of Quora
Quora
Quora is a question-and-answer website created, edited and organized by its community of users. The site was founded in June 2009, launched in private beta in December 2009, and made available to the public on June 21, 2010....
.
Investments
On March 22, 2005, as its first major venture Elevation attempted to purchase Eidos InteractiveEidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
. However, its bid failed and the video games giant was sold to rival SCi Entertainment.
On November 3, 2005, Elevation invested $300 million to create an alliance between video game developers BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...
and Pandemic Studios
Pandemic Studios
Pandemic Studios was founded as an independent developer in 1998, it became an Electronic Arts-owned developer from 2007 to 2009, when it was officially closed. It was an Australian and American video game developer with offices in Brisbane, Australia and Los Angeles, California...
, making it one of the biggest independent developers in the world. It also invested $100 million in Move, Inc., which operates real estate information services.
In August 2006, Elevation announced that it had made an investment in Forbes Media, the parent company of Forbes magazine and Forbes.com. Sources stated that the deal gave Elevation a stake of more than 40 percent at a cost of $250 million to $300 million. After Elevation invested in Forbes, the employee pension plan was frozen.. In the years that followed, there were numerous rounds of layoffs worldwide. The Forbes family also sold its iconic building on Manhattan's 5th Avenue to New York University.
On June 4, 2007 Elevation Partners announced an investment of $325m (€242m) for a 25 percent stake in Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...
. On December 22, 2008 the deal was followed up with an additional $100 million equity investment in Palm, and is made with newly issued preferred stock of convertible type.
On July 11, 2007 Elevation Partners acquired SDI Media Group
SDI Media Group
SDI Media Group is a major provider of subtitling, translation, and language dubbing services to the entertainment industry. The headquarters are located in Culver City, California. Other offices and facilities are located in 32 countries around the world...
, the world's largest provider of subtitling and language dubbing service to the entertainment industry. Elevation purchased the company from Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus, LLC is an American private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Asia. It has been a private equity investor since 1966...
, the private equity firm
Private equity firm
A private equity firm is an investment manager that makes investments in the private equity of operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leveraged buyout, venture capital, and growth capital...
that acquired SDI Media in 2004.
On October 11, 2007, it was announced that EA had negotiated a deal with Elevation to pay $860 million (USD) in order to acquire both Bioware and Pandemic Studios.
On April 16, 2010 Elevation Partners acquired 1% of the company Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
for $90 Million.
Relationship with Wikimedia
On March 20, 2008, the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
published a story saying members of Elevation Partners had donated and raised more than a million dollars for the Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is an American non-profit charitable organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, and organized under the laws of the state of Florida, where it was initially based...
, and may be examining a deeper relationship.
Portfolio companies
- ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
- Move, Inc.
- SDI Media
- Palm, Inc.Palm, Inc.Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...
- Yelp, Inc.