William Blair Capital Partners

William Blair Capital Partners is a private equity firm investing in lower middle-market companies across various industries. The firm focuses on providing flexible long-term capital, with investment horizons ranging from two to twenty years, based on the needs of its portfolio companies. By managing a limited number of high-quality investments, William Blair Capital Partners fosters collaborative relationships with management, aligning objectives among employees, management, and investors. Their team possesses a unique blend of investing and operating expertise, enabling them to support growth and value creation while addressing the challenges faced by companies of various sizes, from family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 firms.

Established in 1982 as the investment arm of William Blair & Company, the firm traces its roots back to that time. In 2004, the senior partners of William Blair Capital Partners completed a spinout from William Blair to form a new firm, Chicago Growth Partners. The primary motivation for the departure was to gain access to a more diversified base of institutional investors that was limited by the group's involvement with the investment bank. The spinout of Chicago Growth Partners from William Blair & Company came at the same time as the spinouts of private equity groups from other leading investment banks, including JPMorgan Chase (CCMP Capital), Citigroup (Court Square Capital Partners), Deutsche Bank (MidOcean Partners), Morgan Stanley (Metalmark Capital), and Credit Suisse First Boston (Avista Capital Partners, Diamond Castle Holdings).

Since its inception, William Blair Capital Partners has raised approximately $1.8 billion across nine funds. The firm has a history of investing in a diverse range of industries, including education, business services, healthcare, and industrial growth. Their investment strategy emphasizes providing flexible, long-term capital to support the growth and development of their portfolio companies, fostering collaborative relationships with management teams to align objectives and drive value creation.