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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
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Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Headquarters at 50 Kennedy Plaza | |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Private equity |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Jonathan M. Nelson (founder and executive chairman) |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Key people | Michael Dominguez (CIO) |
| Products | Leveraged buyouts, Growth capital |
| AUM | $35 billion (2023) |
Number of employees | 180 |
| Website | www |
Providence Equity Partners (Providence) is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity investments and has invested in more than 170 companies globally since its inception in 1989.[1][2]
The firm manages funds with over $31 billion in aggregate private equity capital commitments, making it a large global player in the private equity industry. Providence was one of the principal pioneers of a sector-based approach to private equity investing. The firm's eighth fund, Providence Equity Partners VIII, closed on $6 billion in 2019, above its $5 billion target. The prior fund, Providence VII, closed with $5 billion in 2013.[3][4][5]
Providence is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, with additional offices in New York, Boston, London and Atlanta.[6]
The firm raises investment funds from a broad array of institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, insurance companies, fund of funds, and high-net-worth individuals.
Providence partners with companies at various stages of development, from growth capital and complex recapitalizations of family-owned businesses to large buyouts and take-privates. The firm targets equity investments of $150 million to $500 million and can employ a variety of financing structures.[1] Providence prefers to lead its investments, serve on company boards, and work collaboratively with company management.[7]
In 2008, Providence hired Thomas Gahan as president of the firm's new capital markets group and its affiliate, Benefit Street Partners.[8][9] Prior to joining Providence, Gahan was head of Deutsche Bank's corporate and investment banking in the Americas and chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank Securities. Benefit Street Partners closed on a $1.75 billion middle market direct lending fund in April 2014.[10][11][12] The credit platform was sold to Franklin Templeton Investments in October 2018.[13]
In 2014, Providence established Providence Strategic Growth (PSG), its growth equity affiliate focused on investments in lower middle market software and technology-enabled service companies. PSG is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with offices in London and Kansas City.[14]
Providence's investments have included AutoTrader.com Group, Blackboard Inc., Conversica, eircom, Hulu, Kabel Deutschland, MLS Media, NEW Asurion, Bluestone Television, Newport Television, Univision, VoiceStream (now T-Mobile US), Warner Music Group, Western Wireless, and World Triathlon Corporation (Ironman), YES Network and TopGolf.[15][16]
Since 2013, significant investments by the firm include 365 Retail Markets, Ambassador Theatre Group, DoubleVerify, Learfield Communications, GlobalTranz, Groupe La Centrale, MásMóvil Group, n2y, Node4, Smartly.io, TAIT, Tenstreet, and TCP.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]
Providence's recent exits include TES, Galileo Global Education, EdgeConneX, OEConnection, PADI, Ascend Learning, Vector Solutions and ZeniMax Media.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]
In March 2013, Providence and the National Football League formed a global partnership to invest primarily in sports and entertainment related media assets.[37]
In September 2012, Providence sold a less than 10% stake in the firm to Florida's state pension system and a sovereign wealth fund.[38]
In February 2015, Providence's $800 million stake in security screener Altegrity was wiped out when the security company was accused of fraud and filed for bankruptcy. This followed a series of other expensive losses that Providence blamed on investments outside of its expertise made during the peak of the 2007 and 2008 private equity boom.[39]
In February 2017, Providence expanded its education business by buying NACE Schools, a Spain-based operator of for-profit schools.[40] As of 2021[update], the schools portfolio branded as Globeducate[41] has 55 schools in nine countries.[42]
In October 2017, Modern Times Group sold its telecommunication businesses in the Baltic states to Providence Equity Partners.[43][44] The newly acquired companies were united and operate under the All Media Baltics company name (currently TV3 Group).[45][46][47]
In April 2019, MasMovil agreed to repurchase its convertible bond from Providence Equity. Providence remains a shareholder in the company.[48]
In September 2019, Providence Strategic Growth collected $2 billion for its fourth fund.[49]
In August 2021, it was announced that Providence Equity had purchased a majority share of Sweetwater Sound, a major musical equipment retailer based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[50]
In April 2022, it was announced Providence had acquired the cloud-based managed Wi-Fi solutions provider, Airties.[51]
In September 2020, Providence announced a leadership transition plan, under which founder and CEO Jonathan M. Nelson would become Executive Chairman in January 2021. As part of this planned transition, Providence appointed Davis Noell and David Phillips senior managing directors and co-heads of North America, and Karim Tabet and Andrew Tisdale senior managing directors and co-heads of Europe. Managing Director Michael Dominguez was appointed Chief Investment Officer.[52]
Media related to Providence Equity Partners at Wikimedia Commons
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Providence Equity Partners (Providence) is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity investments and has invested in more than 170 companies globally since its inception in 1989. The firm manages funds with over $31 billion in aggregate private equity capital commitments, making it a large global player in the private equity industry. Providence was one of the principal pioneers of a sector-based approach to private equity investing. The firm's eighth fund, Providence Equity Partners VIII, closed on $6 billion in 2019, above its $5 billion target. The prior fund, Providence VII, closed with $5 billion in 2013. Providence is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, with additional offices in New York, Boston, London and Atlanta.
Blackboard, previously Anthology Inc., and before that, Blackboard, is an American educational technology company with corporate headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida. Blackboard is known for Blackboard Learn, a learning management system. Blackboard Inc. merged with Anthology in late 2021. The company's last CEO was William L. Ballhaus, former president and CEO of SRA International, who was also named chairman and president, on January 4, 2016, following the resignation of Jay Bhatt, who had led Blackboard since October 2012. The firm provides education, mobile, communication, and commerce software and related services to clients, including education providers, corporations and government organizations. The software consists of seven platforms called Learn, Transact, Engage, Connect, Mobile, Collaborate and Analytics, which are offered as bundled software. The firm was founded by Stephen Gilfus, Daniel Cane, Michael Chasen and Matthew Pittinsky through a business combination in 1997, and became a public company in 2004. It operated publicly until it was purchased by Providence Equity Partners in 2011 and Veritas Capital in January 2020. Once the North American market leader among learning management systems, it has continued to lose market share to D2L Brightspace and open-source competitors Moodle and Canvas, retaining only 17% of the market as of 2023.
Tes, formerly known as the Times Educational Supplement, is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for one penny. Tes focuses on school-related news and features. It covered higher education until the Times Higher Education Supplement (now Times Higher Education) was launched as a sister publication in 1971. Today its editor is Jon Severs. Since 1964, an alternative version of the publication, Tess, has been produced for Scotland. An edition for Wales, Tes Cymru, was also published between 2004 and 2011. The lack of content about Wales since its closure has been criticised by the Welsh Education Minister, Jeremy Miles. All are produced by London-based company Tes Global, which has been owned by US investment firm Providence Equity Partners LLC since 2018. The Tes no longer has a connection with The Times newspaper. Times Higher Education was sold in 2018 and is now a separate business to Tes Global. Tes is published weekly on Fridays, at a cover price of £3.50. Data from the National Readership Survey Jan–Dec 2012 suggested that the average yearly readership was around 362,000, of which around 90 percent were in the ABC1 category. In addition to the magazine, Tes runs a popular website featuring breaking education news and comment, teaching jobs, forums, and classroom resources that are uploaded by teachers.
50 Kennedy Plaza (formerly known as Fleet Center) is a postmodern skyscraper in Providence, Rhode Island. At a height of 285 ft (87 m), it is currently the sixth-tallest building in the city and state. The building is named for Kennedy Plaza, which stands to the structure's northeast. Built by Gilbane Building Company, notable occupants with headquarters in the building include Fortune 1000 company Nortek, Inc. and private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. The building's exterior façade features in "granite framing green-reflective-glass side elevations". Its location, sandwiched between the 125 m (410 ft) One Financial Center and the 130 m (430 ft) Industrial National Bank Building, ostensibly detracts from its height with architectural historian William Woodward calling it, "a trifle too low for the site." In company of its two neighbors, however, the building forms part of one of the most identifiable parts of the Providence skyline. This section of the Providence skyline is featured on the animated television series Family Guy. The building is accessible via 100 Westminster St., which has been owned by Paolino Properties since 2014.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →The Greenwood District.
