GS Capital Partners

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Private equity
Founded	1986
Headquarters	85 Broad Street New York City, New York, United States
Products	Leveraged buyout Growth capital
Total assets	US$ 39.9 billion
Number of employees	140+
Parent	Goldman Sachs
Website	www.goldmansachs.com

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments globally.

The group, which is based in New York City, was founded in 1986. GS Capital Partners has raised approximately $39.9 billion since inception across seven funds and has invested over $17 billion. On April 23, 2007, Goldman closed GS Capital Partners VI with $20 billion in committed capital, $11 billion from institutional and high-net-worth investors and $9 billion from Goldman Sachs and its employees. GS Capital Partners VI is the current primary investment vehicle for Goldman Sachs to make large, privately negotiated equity investments.

Goldman Sachs has historically invested capital in a variety of businesses alongside its investment banking clients. In the early and mid-1980s, Goldman was a slow entrant into the financing of leveraged buyouts and junk bonds and preferred to focus on its traditional mergers and acquisitions advisory business. Beginning in 1983, however, Goldman began making longer-term equity investments in private equity transactions that came through its investment banking and other clients.

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners was founded in 1986, at the same time that similar groups were founded at other investment banks including Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. Goldman established investment partnerships that allowed its clients to participate alongside the firm in private equity transactions.

Since 1992, GSCP has raised third party capital as well as investing on behalf of Goldman, its clients and its employees through institutional private equity funds. GSCP's third party investors include pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, fund of funds, high-net-worth individuals, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors.