Boston, MA -- March 31, 2006 -- Great Hill Partners ("GHP") today announced the final closing of the firm's third investment fund, Great Hill Equity Partners III, L.P., with total commitments of $750 million. This latest fund brings the firm's total capital under management to over $1.5 billion. Great Hill Partners will continue to invest in rapidly growing companies operating in the following sectors: Business Services, Financial Services, Online Services, Consumer Services, Logistics, Software, Education, Media/Communications and Transaction Processing.
GHP targets investment opportunities ranging from $20 to $100 million in equity per transaction.
Great Hill Partners' third fund was significantly oversubscribed, receiving strong support from previous investors and generating significant interest from new limited partners. Nearly all of the investors from GHP's $460 million second fund participated in Fund III, including JP Morgan Investment Management, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System and Vanderbilt University. These LP's were joined by a limited number of new investors such as Virginia Retirement System, The Kresge Foundation and the University of Rochester. The firm did not use a placement agent to raise the fund.
Christopher Gaffney, a Managing Partner at Great Hill said, "I want to thank our investors for their continued support of our research-oriented investment strategy and focus. We are excited to continue working with proven management teams to build successful businesses in our targeted industry sectors."
Great Hill Partners' most recent fund has posted a net IRR of 35% as of December 31, 2005, and has provided significant liquidity to its LP's. Representative investments for Great Hill Partners' second fund include:
-IGN Entertainment, Inc., a leading online media company serving the video game community. GHP took the company private and helped management build the business through strategic acquisitions and later sold the company to News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) for $650 million.
-GMT Group, Inc., the largest privately held money transfer company. GHP backed a management team to acquire the business, rebuild its sales team to take advantage of the rapidly growing sector, and sold the company to First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) for $364 million.
-BillMatrix Corporation, a leading provider of expedited bill payment services. GHP acquired a majority interest and subsequently sold the company to Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) for $355 million.
Global Tower Management, LLC, a rapidly growing wireless tower operator. GHP backed an executive to build the business through acquisition into the second largest privately held wireless tower operator, and sold the company to the Blackstone Group for $225 million.
About Great Hill Partners
Great Hill Partners, located in Boston, MA, provides equity capital to rapidly growing businesses in its targeted industry sectors. The firm invests in a wide variety of transaction types, including buyouts, recapitalizations, consolidations, growth equity, and going private transactions. For more information, please visit our website atwww.greathillpartners.com.
