Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, crypto, tech opportunities, partnership opportunities, special situations, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry sectors and geographic regions. the firm managed approximately $165 billion of investor capital. The firm was founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. The company is headquartered at 200 Clarendon Street in Boston with 22 offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Since its establishment, Bain Capital has invested in or acquired hundreds of companies, including AMC Theatres, Artisan Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Apex Tool Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Canada Goose, DIC Entertainment, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), iHeartMedia, ITP Aero, KB Toys, Sealy, Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Virgin Australia, Warner Music Group, Fingerhut, Athenahealth, The Weather Channel, Varsity Brands and Apple Leisure Group, which includes AMResorts and Apple Vacations. The company and its actions during its first 15 years became the subject of political and media scrutiny as a result of co-founder Mitt Romney's later political career, especially his 2012 presidential campaign.
In June 2023, Bain Capital was ranked 13th in Private Equity International's PEI 300 ranking of the largest private equity firms in the world.
History
1984 founding and early history
Bain Capital was founded in 1984 by Bain & Company partners Mitt Romney, T. Coleman Andrews III, and Eric Kriss, after Bill Bain had offered Romney the chance to head a new venture that would invest in companies and apply Bain's consulting techniques to improve operations. In addition to the three founding partners, the early team included Fraser Bullock, Robert F. White, Joshua Bekenstein, Adam Kirsch, and Geoffrey S. Rehnert. Romney initially held the titles of president and managing general partner or managing partner. He later became referred to as managing director or CEO as well. He was also the sole shareholder of the firm. At the time, the firm had fewer than ten employees.
In the face of skepticism from potential investors, Romney and his partners spent a year raising the $37 million in funds needed to start the new operation. Bain partners put in $12 million of their own money and sourced the rest from wealthy individuals. Early investors included Boston real estate mogul Mortimer Zuckerman and Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots football team. They also included members of elite Salvadoran families such as Ricardo Poma whose capital fled the country's civil war. They and other wealthy Latin Americans invested $9 million primarily through offshore companies registered in Panama.
While Bain Capital was founded by Bain executives, the firm was not an affiliate or a division of Bain & Company but rather a completely separate company. Initially, the two firms shared the same offices—in an office tower at Copley Place in Boston—and a similar approach to improving business operations. However, the two firms had put in place certain protections to avoid sharing information between the two companies and the Bain & Company executives had the ability to veto investments that posed potential conflicts of interest. Bain Capital also provided an investment opportunity for partners of Bain & Company. The firm initially gave a cut of its profits to Bain & Company, but Romney later persuaded Bill Bain to give that up.
The Bain Capital team was initially reluctant to invest its capital. By 1985, things were going poorly enough that Romney considered closing the operation, returning investors' money to them, and having the partners go back to their old positions. The partners saw weak spots in so many potential deals that by 1986, very few had been done.