While many peers are struggling to find viable exits, GTCR is already on track to return more than $5 billion this year to investors, reports Bloomberg.
Since April’s tariff “Liberation Day,” the Chicago-based firm has agreed to sell major stakes in three portfolio companies in quick succession: payments provider Worldpay, fund administration platform Ultimus Fund Solutions, and insurtech business Itel.
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Adding the sale of insurance broker AssuredPartners in late 2024, GTCR’s last twelve-month exits are nearing $45 billion in enterprise value.
The biggest win for the Chicago-based firm was the $24.3 billion sale of Worldpay to Global Payments, where GTCR’s 55 percent stake delivered a roughly two-times multiple on invested capital just 18 months after entry. A welcome quick win in any scenario, but particularly notable for a deal that was GTCR’s largest-ever investment.
GTCR acquired its stake from Fidelity National Information Services in July 2024 at an $18.5 billion valuation, backing former chief executive Charles Drucker.
“We took R&D expense, capital development and expenditures up significantly during our ownership and invested a lot in modernizing the technology, launching new product, and expanding to new markets,” GTCR managing director KJ McConnell told Bloomberg at announcement.
“When we bought the business, it was basically flat; now growing mid-single digits with a nice path to high-single digits, given the strength in our e-commerce and software integrated payments businesses. So that was the core thesis: this could be a better business on a standalone basis if we had the right team, and Charles [Drucker] was exactly the right CEO to give us the confidence behind that thesis.”
In the rest of the firm’s recent exits, insurance has proven to be a winning theme, supporting the view held by some investors that sector-specific strategies may be somewhat more insulated from broader market pressures.
The momentum has carried over to GTCR’s fundraising. The firm closed its $11.5 billion Fund XIV at its hard cap in 2023 and, in February, held the final close of an oversubscribed $3.6 billion second Strategic Growth Fund.
The latter vehicle, focused on middle and lower middle market opportunities with equity investments between $50 million and $250 million, surpassed its $2.75 billion target despite historically poor fundraising conditions. Supporting the performance were commitments of more than $3.35 billion from existing LP relationships.