Clearlake Update
Curious about how Clearlake is doing. Most posts seem to be 1.5+ years old, so I was wondering how they are doing now and how they are ranked against other PE firms.
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, Clearlake Capital is not explicitly mentioned in the rankings provided. However, here are the latest rankings for private equity firms as of September 2023, which might help you gauge where Clearlake could stand in comparison:
Top Rankings Across Key Metrics:
Career Advancement Opportunities:
Overall Employee Satisfaction:
Professional Growth Opportunities:
If Clearlake Capital is not listed here, it may not currently rank among the top firms in these specific categories. However, Clearlake has historically been recognized for its strong performance in middle-market private equity and its focus on technology, industrials, and consumer sectors. For a more precise update, you might want to check recent industry reports or discussions on WSO forums.
Sources: PE teams in Sovereign Wealth Funds, Family Office Private Equity, Great Investment Podcast - Capital Allocators, Q&A: VP MF Special sits, Vista Equity Partners vs. Silver Lake
Clearlake is most relevant and talked about as people marvel at how they’re still in business and were able to raise a fund.
That should tell you everything you need to know.
Wow that bad? Shocked to see so many people there from top tier banks then
they pay well and honestly the learning is good when the portfolio is on fire so you spend 120h a week straining over your desk trying to squeeze blood from a stone
New office in century city will be the nicest office in LA
Their IR team is like Calvin Johnson on the Lions
LMFAO. So true.
Founder cares more about baseball than actual returns
bump
They just bought Qualus for $2B so can’t be doing that bad lol
What does this even mean lmao
Have zero knowledge and have heard tough culture (don’t really care about juniors) but their ability to continually raise and substantial AUM (and past performance) is nothing to sneeze at.
I’d still take a seat if given the opportunity.
What firms do you think they are comparable to?
AmSec if they had an all-star IR team
Tough to compare them.
A shitty LGP? One office, high AUM to HC, swing for the fences and sometimes (often) get burned, but a good historical track record, and bad culture (vs. LGP’s apparently good culture).
Have heard economics at LGP aren’t the best tho - no clue how things pan out long term at Clearlake.
Correct that the econs at LGP suck. But not like LGP is doing well either...is your best investment idea really taking a car wash roll-up public, and then taking that same car wash private several years later?
Is LGP really not doing? They’ve have a lot of wins over the years including SRS and Jetro recently
I mean over the past 2 years they’ve had two of the most impressive, if not the most impressive, PE exits with SRS and Jetro.
Their AUM has climbed $10B by virtue of asset growth in those two years too. 100 person team with $85B AUM…
I’m sure two MPs are billionaires to detriment of remaining IPs but who cares. One of the more legendary stories in PE, and even with high teens IRRs, they’re clipping 10 figs in management fees every year.
I know I also sound like an LGP glazer (I kind of am) but why is that necessarily a bad idea?
Maybe they got the exit liquidity they were after and the stock trading down meant they could buy an asset they knew well on the cheap to then sell later at their discretion?
Turtle Creek’s (Canada) business model is to rotate in and out of names they know well whenever there’s price dislocation and they have apparently done very well.
If I could IPO an asset and sell 50% at an attractive price, buy it back at a discount, and then benefit from subsequent cash flows over the next holding period until I l sell it again, why wouldn’t I?
LGP does not operate like a normal PE firm. They buy assets that fit into and complement their broader portfolio and their work with Mr. Car Wash is no different I’m sure.
In all fairness, I sound like an LGP hater (because I also am). Yes the ability to buy back at a discount is attractive but the fact that there's a discount in the first place shows a couple problems:
I get what you're saying with Turtle Creek but they're a HF, so it's not fair to compare to a PE fund. I'd expect HFs will rotate in and out of names. But given that the private company universe is much larger, I'd hope that they have better investment ideas. And as mentioned above, PE funds have fund life constraints whereas HFs don't (I think?).
And yes, LGP has always pursued a strategy of buying high-quality businesses. But ultimately any strategy is just marketing fluff unless it's backed up by returns. LGP's returns have been average.
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Would still 100% take a job here
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