Katana VentraIP

Friedman Fleischer & Lowe

FFL Partners, LLC, previously known as Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, is an American private equity firm, founded in 1997 by Tully Friedman,[2] Spencer Fleischer,[3] David Lowe, and Christopher Masto.[4] The firm makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts and growth capital investments and is focused on investing in the U.S. middle-market.[5][6]

Company type

1997 (1997)

Tully Friedman
Spencer Fleischer
David Lowe
Christopher Masto

N/A

$4.6 billion[1]

30+ (2015)

FFL has focused its efforts on several core target industries including healthcare services, financial services, business services, and consumer products. FFL is based in San Francisco and employs over 20 investment professionals. Since inception, FFL has raised approximately $4.6 billion of investor commitments.

[13]

CapitalSource

[14][15]

CHI Overhead Doors

[16]

Church's Chicken

Discovery Foods

[17]

Geovera

[18]

Guardian Home Care[20]

[19]

[21]

Korn/Ferry

Midwest Dental[23]

[22]

[24]

Milestone AV Technologies

[25]

Tempur-Pedic

WellStreet

[26]

Wilton Re

[27]

FFL invests through a series of private equity funds (structured as limited partnerships), and its investors include a variety of pension funds, endowments, and other institutional investors.


The firm's first private equity fund, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Capital Partners closed in September 1999 with $333 million of investor commitments.[11] Almost five years later, the firm completed raising $811 million of investor commitments for its second fund, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Capital Partners II in June 2004. In 2007, the firm raised its third investment fund, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Capital Partners III, with $1.5 billion of investor commitments.[12]


The following are among the firm's most notable current and previous portfolio companies:

Ranked #1 in 2012

[28]

Ranked #2 in 2011

[29]

Ranked #11 in 2010

[30]

HEC-Dow Jones's Private Equity Performance Ranking lists the world's top private equity firms in terms of aggregate performance and listed FFL for three years:

Tully M. Friedman: Hellman & Friedman (Co-Founder); Salomon Brothers (Managing Director)

[31]

Spencer Fleischer: Morgan Stanley (Member of Investment Banking Operating Committee & Managing Director)

[32]

Chris Masto: Bain & Company; Morgan Stanley

[33]

Rajat Duggal: Bain Capital; Kirkland & Ellis; Deloitte & Touche

Nancy Graham Ford: Thomas H. Lee Partners; Goldman Sachs

Aaron S. Money: DB Capital; Chase Securities

Cas Schneller: GTCR; William Blair

John Tudor: Bain Capital; Monitor Company

FFL's team consists of experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds in operational and strategic management, investment banking, private equity investing, and consulting. The firm’s principals have invested over $2.5 billion in over 50 companies and have over 100 years of collective experience as investors, senior operating executives, and advisors.


Investment Principals


Operating Partners

List of venture capital firms

(official website)

Friedman Fleischer & Lowe