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GTCR and MDP in Chicago
BDT should also be here, not traditional PE per se but Byron is a beast and they just raised a $9B fund
I'd take the PEI 300 and go from there. I'd say most UMM /MF shops are based outside of NY. At a high level without checking the following North American ones I can think of using a 3B+ fund metric/able to do really big deals are: Ares, H&F, Bain Cap, TPG, Carlyle, Advent, Golden Gate, Berkshire, Clearlake, Vista, Platinum, Madison Dearborn, BDT, GTCR, Charlesbank, L Chatterton, Roark, Silverlake, THL (may not be UMM anymore), Thoma Bravo, HIG, Genstar, Evergreen Coast, Siris, HIG.
European includes EQT, Cinven, CVC, Permira, Nordic Capital, Partners Group,Bridgepoint, BC Partners.
This is a good broad list, but if you want to fine-tooth it for truly the "best" names:
Boston: Baincap, Berkshire (though they haven't raised in a minute, maybe returns dove?); I don't think of Advent as a "Boston fund" just because they are so international. Could be dumb of me but it is what it is; Providence is for all intents and purposes a Boston firm but is just fine, major recovering fallen angel vibes
DC: Carlyle
SF: TPG, Hellman, Thoma; GGC's perpetual structure has gotten some pushback and that place is a misanthrope factory
LA: LGP; Ares is sweaty as f and also I get the sense that their PE is several notches below their other strategies
Chi: MDP; BDT killing recently but I have no clue how much of their merchant banking is advisory as opposed to PE at the associate level; GTCR is a cut below even with a bigger fund since MDP capped their new fund after great returns to kind of moderate growth after recent experiences as a bit of a fallen angel
Texas: Vista (though SF active)
Catterton is non-NYC in name only, everyone I've known there has either full-fledged reverse commuted or has had a crash pad but considers themselves NYC. Siris is also heavily NYC; SF office but it doesn't really belong on this list
Berkshire and TH Lee in Boston.
I would not lump in THL as "best of" anything. They're old and have historical cred but are building back up after eating a bullet in Fund VII fundraising. Culture is notoriously beyond brutal...you can do better at the same fund size / selectivity, for your own peace of mind.
The Fund VII fundraise was definitely not great but seems like that may have been partially a result of their namesake leaving (unclear how amicable that split actually was). I don’t know who you’ve talked to about the culture but I know multiple people who have worked / are working there and they’ve said the culture is actually pretty good / much better than that at comparable NYC funds (some partners will send you champagne and handwritten notes after deals, they have a fully paid associate ski trip, mid-levels will cover for you when you need to take time off to study for the GMAT). Extremely nice senior people who tend to be a lot more laid back. HBS pipeline is outstanding given their size although probably partially a function of the firm’s history. I’d say that Berkshire is better but I don’t think THL is a couple of steps behind. Pretty comparable to MDP / Welsh Carson.
Damn I would drag my nuts through a mile of shard glass just to have a headhunter intro through a walkie talkie with a pe firm..