
Parthenon Capital Partners
Description
Parthenon Capital Partners is a prominent private equity firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with an additional office in San Francisco. The firm specializes in making control and significant minority investments in growth-oriented companies within the services sector. Their core focus areas include financial services, healthcare services, and business services, where they seek to partner with strong management teams to accelerate growth, improve operations, and execute strategic initiatives. Parthenon Capital is known for its deep industry expertise and a hands-on approach, aiming to build market-leading companies through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.
The firm's investment strategy is characterized by identifying businesses with strong market positions, defensible competitive advantages, and significant growth potential. They typically target companies with enterprise values ranging from several hundred million dollars to multiple billions. Parthenon Capital provides substantial equity capital, often committing initial checks ranging from approximately $50 million to upwards of $400 million per transaction, depending on the specific deal structure and the size of the target company. This substantial capital base allows them to pursue large-scale transformations and support ambitious growth plans for their portfolio companies.
Parthenon Capital has a long-standing track record of successful investments, having raised multiple funds over its history. Their most recent fund, Parthenon Capital Partners VI, closed in 2021 with total commitments of $2.0 billion, demonstrating strong investor confidence in their strategy. Prior to that, Parthenon Capital Partners V closed in 2019 at $1.5 billion. These significant fund sizes underscore their capacity to execute large and complex transactions across their target sectors. The firm's disciplined investment approach and focus on value creation have consistently positioned them as a leading investor in the services industry.
Investor Profile
Parthenon Capital Partners has backed more than 42 startups, with 1 new investments in the last 12 months alone. The firm has led 32 rounds, about 76% of its total and boasts 20 exits across its portfolio.
Investment Focus Highlights
- Concentrates on Private Equity, Series Unknown, Series C rounds (top funding stages).
- Majority of deals are located in United States.
- Strong thematic focus on Health Care, Financial Services, Software.
- Typical check size: $50M – $400M.
Stage Focus
- Private Equity (79%)
- Series Unknown (17%)
- Series C (2%)
- Post Ipo Equity (2%)
Country Focus
- United States (100%)
Industry Focus
- Health Care
- Financial Services
- Software
- Information Technology
- Payments
- Finance
- Pharmaceutical
- Consulting
- Enterprise Software
- Fintech
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn who this investor regularly partners with—both firms and angels—and explore their latest activity.