Following the bursting of the
Dot-com bubble, the firm had shown a pattern of investments in technology companies that may have been distressed by the
Great Recession in the United States at that time. In 2006, it bought Neways International for $500 Million, acquiring the company at an auction held by the divorce court. A prior $700 million transaction, led by Ramy El-Batrawi, had been abandoned, due to feuding between the divorcing couple that owned Neways International, each of whom were convicted, the previous year, on "six counts of income tax evasion and a conspiracy to defraud the IRS", and sentenced to more than two years in prison. Ramy El-Batrawi died of unknown causes on April 23, 2024. On May 15, 2007,
Limited Brands announced its intent to sell a 67% stake in
Express to Golden Gate Capital Partners. When the sale was finalized, in July 2007, Golden Gate's stake in the company was 75% for approximately $550 Million, instead of the announced 67%. Through its unit, Mac Acquisition LLC, in 2008, the firm acquired a majority stake in the
Romano's Macaroni Grill restaurant chain for $131 Million. In October 2017, Mac Acquisition LLC filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, from which it was able to emerge in February 2018. In June 2009, the company announced the purchase of the
J.Jill brand business from
Talbots. In April 2011, the
Bahrain-based private equity firm
Arcapita bought Jill Acquisitions from Golden Gate. In 2011, it acquired
California Pizza Kitchen. The company declared bankruptcy in July 2020, seeking to reduce its debt load and close locations, during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 9, 2012,
Wolverine World Wide, Golden Gate Capital and
Blum Capital acquired Collective Brands. On July 28, 2014, Golden Gate completed the purchase of
Red Lobster from
Darden Restaurants, for $2.1 billion. The firm has been criticized for its handling of Red Lobster; Golden Gate was accused of "
asset stripping" by selling off Red Lobster's real estate, which Golden Gate in turn kept as profit rather than a reinvestment into the restaurant chain. Red Lobster filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024. In November 2014, Golden Gate Capital agreed to buy Angus Chemical Co. and its Sterlington plant from
Dow Chemical, for $1.215 billion. In May 2015, the company backed Philip P. Gass and Kostas Cheliotis with $750 million for a reinsurance company. That month, Golden Gate Capital, with Arcapita Bank, also sold its J.Jill retail holdings to
TowerBrook. In September 2016, the company acquired lifestyle clothing brand
PacSun, after the retailer completed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In January 2017, the company purchased the
Bob Evans Restaurants division from Bob Evans Farms, for $565 million. On August 8, 2017, Golden Gate Capital finalized the acquisition of
Neustar, Inc., previously NSR, a publicly traded company. In June 2018, the company announced that it had established a new operating company, PSEB Group. PSEB is composed of two Golden Gate portfolio companies:
Eddie Bauer and
Pacific Sunwear of California. In July, Golden Gate Capital announced that it had acquired The Learning Experience, one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing academies of early education and
child care providers. In November, Golden Gate Capital announced that it had acquired Vector Solutions of
Tampa from
Providence Equity Partners, for an undisclosed sum. In September 2019, Golden Gate Capital acquired autism and childhood behavioral health services provider, Invo Holding, LLC, for an undisclosed amount. In November, the firm sold Hillstone Environmental Partners, which it had co-founded in 2015 as a
de novo investment, in a partnership with Hillstone CEO and co-founder Jay Parkinson. NGL Energy Partners acquired the Central
Delaware Basin water pipeline and disposal infrastructure company for approximately US$600 million. ==References==