The story of CD&R’s investment strategy dates back to 1978 when Eugene Clayton, Marty Dubilier and leveraged buyout veteran Joe Rice founded the firm in New York. The goal was to focus solely on private equity, taking over companies with untapped potential and turning them around, but some standout deals have tested the firm’s resolve.

Case in point: CD&R’s four-month long acquisition tussle for Morrisons in 2021, which eventually edged out an investor consortium led by Fortress Investment Group. The battle to buy the then struggling British supermarket chain even at a 61% premium proved that some takeovers are tougher than others.

Still, even pushback from UK politicians could not discourage CD&R from owning and returning debt-laden Morrisons to the path of growth. To achieve this, the sponsor employed multiple asset sales and maturity-extending deals as a strategy to delever the retailer. Now four years into CD&R’s ownership, almost all the debt tied to Morrisons is trading at par.

But that’s just one out of CD&R’s many feats. The firm also makes fundraising look easy. At a time when raising private equity capital became challenging in 2023, the buyout firm surpassed its fundraising expectation with the closing of its 12th and largest-ever flagship fund at $26b, contributing to a total managed funds of $81b.