Partners Group


Partners Group AG is a Swiss global private equity firm with US$94 billion in assets under management in private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate and private debt. The firm manages a broad range of funds, structured products and customized portfolios for an international clientele of institutional investors, private banks and other financial institutions. The firm has completed more than 240 private equity investments in portfolio companies. As of 2016, Partners Group is the second-most-valuable publicly-listed private markets firm in the world by market capitalization, after The Blackstone Group.

History

Founded in 1996, the firm is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland with offices in Denver, New York, Houston, Toronto, São Paulo, London, Guernsey, Paris, Luxembourg, Milan, Munich, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Manila, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney. In 2019, the firm opened its 129,400-square-foot North American headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado.
Partners Group is a joint stock company under Swiss law, listed on the Swiss Exchange since its 2006 initial public offering. Around 45% of the shares are held by all employees and partners. The firm's founding partners are Alfred Gantner, Marcel Erni, Urs Wietlisbach and Stefan Degen. As of 2016, according to Forbes' annual billionaire's list, founders Gantner, Erni, and Wietlisbach are listed as three of the 25 wealthiest private equity managers in the world, each with net worths totaling $1.3 billion.
As of 30 November 2011, Partners Group has been included in the MSCI Switzerland Index after having been included in mid-September in the Swiss Small & Mid Cap Index which tracks the 50 biggest listed companies in Switzerland.
In January 2018, Royal Dutch Shell purchased the company’s 44% minority interest in solar energy firm Silicon Ranch for an estimated $200 million.
As of 21 September 2020, Partners Group will be included in the Swiss Market Index. The blue-chip SMI is the most prominent stock index in Switzerland, comprising the 20 largest Swiss stocks.

Controversies

In January 2020, freight rail operating company MidRail accused the private equity firm of soliciting the rail company’s business secrets to compete against it on a deal, in violation of a non-disclosure agreement previously signed and agreed to in 2017. The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court. According to the lawsuit, the company MidRail was forced to bid $100 million more for acquisition target Patriot Rail as a result of the breach in the confidentiality agreement.