Why Hellman & Friedman for Private Equity? / Overview of Hellman & Friedman

Matt Ting
Nov 2, 2022
2 min read

Updated: May 25, 2024

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Overview

Hellman & Friedman is an American private equity firm that manages over $120B in AUM.

The firm has offices in San Francisco, New York, and London. Hellman & Friedman is respected as one of the best private equity investors in the industry and has a long and successful history.

Hellman & Friedman focuses on investing in media, financial services, professional services, and information services. They focus on purchasing distinctive market-leading companies.

Remember that in order to craft a great answer to the common question "Why this Firm?", it's your responsibility to read articles and speak with employees. If you are interviewing with Hellman & Friedman, you should make sure you know:

1 deal that the investment team you are recruiting with has done
1 person at the firm (ideally someone who would have influence over your recruiting process)
1 business model-specific detail to mention

We explain how to answer qualitative questions and research private equity firms in our Private Equity Course. We also teach how to build LBO models and prepare for case study interviews.

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Selected Transaction

Hellman & Friedman led a group of investors to purchase major customer support and sales SaaS company Zendesk.

Transaction Description: An investor group led by Hellman & Friedman LLC entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE:ZEN) from Capital World Investors, The Vanguard Group, Inc., BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), and others. Under the terms of the agreement, Zendesk shareholders will receive $77.5 per share.
Transaction Value: $10.2B, all-cash
Transaction Date: Announced June 2022
Press Release

Fact Sheet

Company Name: Hellman & Friedman
Description: Hellman & Friedman LLC is an American private equity firm, founded by Warren Hellman and Tully Friedman, that makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts as well as growth capital investments
Firm Category: Private Equity / Upper Middle Market
Ticker: Hellman & Friedman is a privately held company
Founded: 1984
Assets Under Management: $120B
Flagship Fund Size: Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners XI ($22B in 2024)
Chief Executive Officer: Patrick Healy
Headquarters: San Francisco, USA