LOS ANGELES & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (“LLCP”), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, today announced that Josh Kaufman has been named Head of Europe. Mr. Kaufman, one of LLCP’s Senior Managing Directors, will join LLCP’s Investment Committee and be responsible for managing the European Investment Team, as well as the origination of new investment opportunities, investment due diligence and portfolio management. Mr. Kaufman succeeds John O’Neill, who has transitioned to a new role as a Senior Advisor.
Matthew Frankel and Michael Weinberg, Managing Partners of LLCP, said, “We are delighted that Josh has assumed leadership of our European operations. During his tenure with LLCP, Josh has played an integral role in expanding our business and executing many of our successful investments in the region. Elevating Josh to become Head of Europe is a well-deserved and natural evolution following John’s transition to Senior Advisor. We are very excited for what lies ahead for LLCP in Europe.
“LLCP has grown significantly in Europe under John’s leadership and he has laid a foundation for continued success in the coming years. We are grateful for John’s commitment to LLCP and our investors and are fortunate that we will continue to benefit from his considerable experience and wisdom in his new role,” Messrs. Frankel and Weinberg continued.
Mr. Kaufman, said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to head LLCP’s European operations and appreciate the confidence of our firm’s leadership. It has been an honor to work alongside John in recent years to build a market-leading middle market investment operation. I look forward to collaborating with our dedicated European team to capitalize on our many attractive opportunities across the region.”
LLCP has successfully built its European business with significant expansion across four offices: London, Frankfurt, Stockholm and The Hague. The firm is currently investing from its second dedicated European fund, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Europe II SCSp (“Europe II”), which closed in 2020 with €463 million in capital commitments. LLCP’s most recent acquisition in Europe was Global Loan Agency Services (“GLAS”), a provider of administration, agency and trustee services developed specifically for the credit markets, in May 2022.
Josh Kaufman rejoined LLCP in 2020, having been with the firm in a similar capacity from 2011 to 2016, and currently serves as a Senior Managing Director of the Investment Management team. In this capacity, he is responsible for sourcing, investment due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio management.
Previously, Josh was a Partner with Inflexion, a London-based private equity firm, where he sourced and led investments with a focus on the education, business services and TMT sectors. Earlier in his career, Josh was a Senior Associate at Leeds Equity Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, where he focused on investing in middle-market education and business services companies. He began his career at Robert W. Baird in Chicago as a member of the technology and services investment banking team.
About Levine Leichtman Capital Partners
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC is a middle-market private equity firm with a 39-year track record of investing across various targeted sectors, including franchising, business services, education and engineered products. LLCP utilizes a differentiated Structured Private Equity investment strategy, combining debt and equity capital investments in portfolio companies. This unique structure provides a less dilutive solution for management teams and entrepreneurs, while delivering growth and income with a significantly lower risk profile.
LLCP’s global team of dedicated investment professionals is led by nine partners who have worked at LLCP for an average of 19 years. Since inception, LLCP has managed approximately $13.0 billion of institutional capital across 15 investment funds and has invested in over 100 portfolio companies. LLCP currently manages $9.0 billion of assets and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Miami, London, Stockholm, The Hague and Frankfurt.