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Clearlake Capital Group

Website:

clearlake.com/
Location:

Santa Monica, CA
Type:

Private Investment Firm
Formation:

2006

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Clearlake Capital Group (also known as Clearlake) is a private investment firm based in Santa Monica, California. It is perhaps most notable for its ownership stake in Chelsea Football Club, which as of 2024 plays in the English Premier League. 1

Background

Clearlake Capital Group was founded in 2006 by Steven Chang, Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano. According to its website, the firm uses an “O.P.S.” approach to its investments, focusing on a given company’s operations, people, and strategy in its attempts to grow profits. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the firm engaged in leveraged buyouts of target companies, an acquisition strategy involving significant debt financing. Though Chang left the firm in 2015 to become a co-founder of Allomer Capital Group, as of March 2024, the firm’s other founders remain part of Clearlake’s leadership. 2

Though Clearlake’s headquarters are based in Santa Monica, California, the firm also maintains an office in Singapore. 3

As of March 2023, the firm manages over $70 billion worth of assets and employs over 130 employees. 4

Activity

Major investments by Clearlake include the acquisition of 60 percent of the Chelsea Football Club; the whole of Cornerstone OnDemand, a NASDAQ-listed software company; and Ashley Stewart, a women’s clothing brand that had filed for bankruptcy in 2014, which the firm later sold to Invus Group in 2016. 5

Leadership

Behdad Eghbali is a co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital Group as well as a member of the board of directors of several of the firm’s portfolio companies, including Diligent, Zywave, DigiCert, and Brightly. Before co-founding Clearlake, Eghbali worked in private equity for TPG Capital. 6

Jose E. Feliciano is a co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital Group as well as a member of the board of trustees of Stanford University and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino. Before co-founding Clearlake, Feliciano worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and was the chief financial officer of govWorks. 7 8

Fred Ebrahemi is a partner, chief operating officer, managing director, general counsel, and chief compliance officer at Clearlake Capital Group, as well as a member of the board of directors of several of the firm’s portfolio companies, including Hi-Crush, Trinitas Capital Management, and the National Association of Investment Companies. Before joining Clearlake, he was the senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Platinum Equity Advisors, president and general counsel for NINJA Mobile, corporate associate at Morrison and Foerster, and corporate associate at Hughes Hubbard and Reed. 9 10

Dan Groen is a managing director and co-head of business development at Clearlake as well as a member of the board of directors of two of the firm’s portfolio companies, OnShift and symplr. 11

James Pade is a partner and managing director of Clearlake as well as a member of the board of directors of several of the firm’s portfolio companies, including American Construction Source, Appriss, Diligent, EagleView, FloWorks, Ivanti Software, and Lytx. Before joining Clearlake, Pade was an investment professional at TowerBrook Capital Partners and an investment banker at Credit Suisse. 12 13

Arta Tabaee is a partner and managing director at Clearlake. Before joining Clearlake, he was an investment professional at H.I.G. Capital, a senior associate at TPG in the North American Buyouts Group, and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Morgan Stanley and Co. 14 15

Paul Huber is a managing director at Clearlake as well as a member of the board of directors of several of the firm’s portfolio companies, including Cornerstone OnDemand, Precisely, Quest Software, and symplr. Before joining the firm, he was a principal at Financial Technology Partners LP, a senior associate at Thoma Bravo LP, and a senior analyst at William Blair & Co. LLC. 16 17

Pedro Urrutia is a partner, managing director, and chief financial officer of Clearlake. Before joining the firm, he was the chief operating officer of Tennenbaum Capital Partners. 18 19

References

  1. Ramachandran, Naman. “Chelsea Soccer Club’s $5.3 Billion Acquisition Completed by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital-Led Consortium.” Variety, May 30, 2022. https://variety.com/2022/sports/global/chelsea-fc-acquisition-complete-1235281068/.
  2. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  3. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  4. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  5. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  6. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  7. “Jose E. Feliciano.” Forbes. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jose-e-feliciano/?sh=56ddf2438f82
  8. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  9. “Fred Ebrahemi.” Metricstream. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.metricstream.com/about-us/leadership.htm#:~:text=Fred%20Ebrahemi&text=Fred%20Ebrahemi%20is%20a%20Partner,credit%2C%20and%2 0other%20related%20strategies.
  10. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  11. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  12. “James Pade.” Diligent. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://cd-staging.diligent.com/en-gb/company/about-us/james-pade/
  13. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  14. “ARTA TABAEE.” Harvard Iranian Alumni. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.harvardiranianalumni.org/board#:~:text=Arta%20is%20a%20graduate%20of,an%20investment%20professional%20at%20H.I.G.
  15. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  16. “Paul Huber.” Market Screener. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://in.marketscreener.com/insider/PAUL-HUBER-A1IQ8U/
  17. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
  18. “Pedro Urrutia.” Market Screener. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://in.marketscreener.com/insider/PEDRO-URRUTIA-A021UG/
  19. Dwyer, Jeff. “Private Equity Deep Dive: Clearlake Capital Group.” StacheCow. April 12, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://stachecow.com/private-equity-deep-dive-clearlake-capital-group-201#stories
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Clearlake Capital Group


Santa Monica, CA