Platinum Capital Partners – Case Solution

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Platinum Capital Partners Case Answers

Introduction to the Platinum Capital Partners Case Study:

The Angel Foundation is currently looking for possible funds to invest in and is considering Platinum Capital Partners, a new buyout fund in the $250m range. Platinum is relatively new to the fund structure, with this being their first buyout fund and their second fund in total.

Their strategy is to focus on smaller companies as they have proved to be lucrative buyout candidates. The question is, therefore, if Platinum is worth investing in or if it is just another JAMMBOG. Our analysis concludes that Platinum belongs in the third pile.

Historical Performance:

Platinum Capital Partners has previously raised capital on a deal-by-deal basis, finding attractive targets before raising the capital required. This has been disadvantageous when bidding for companies, as it takes time to raise the capital necessary. Having a fund would clearly make Platinum more flexible, but it will also give them different incentives.

With a fund, new governance problems might occur. For instance, Platinum might not be able to find good deals for all $250m, making it difficult for them to cope with all the money at hand. As the total historical investments amount to $87m over a time span of approximately 15 years, Platinum might end up with more bad investments when trying to spend 250m.

The hurdle rate might also further incentivize Platinum Capital Partners to take more risk as they will not see any profits for themselves until an IRR of 8% is achieved. Platinum further states that no more than 20% of the fund should be invested in each company. This opens up the possibility for some investments being way higher than any previous deals made by Platinum, and it can lead to a more risky and undiversified allocation of their portfolio.

Furthermore, the LBO market has developed over the years, and the value drives have changed. Fund managers estimated that, on average, about 40 % of the investment return during the 1980s derived from the application of leverage, while post-acquisition operating improvements accounted for just 34 %.

During the 1990s, they estimated these contribution rates had roughly reversed, with 23 % of returns deriving from the application of leverage and 43 % from operating improvements. It is fair to assume that this development will continue as the financial market becomes even more efficient. This implies that LBO funds need to identify companies where operating improvements can be made in order to gain an excess return.

Platinum Capital Partners’ track record has been exceptional, besides a few bad investments. In the timelines 1986-1990, 1991-1995, and 1996-2000, they have had gross IRR of 32%, 132%, 231%, and multiples of 6.6, 5, and 1.9, respectively.

If you compare Platinum’s historical performance with averages for the buyout industry, we see that Platinum has…