IPO-pedia | Vaunted private equity giant TPG files to go public

Renowned private equity firm TPG has submitted paperwork for an initial public offering in the United States, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The firm expects to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol "TPG."

It didn't reveal the number of shares it plans to sell or the indicative price range, but knowledgeable sources told The Wall Street Journal in June that it could be valued at $10 billion.

J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, TPG Capital BD LLC and BofA Securities are the lead underwriters for the offering.

Founded in 1992 by David Bonderman and Jim Coulter, TPG was launched as Texas Pacific Group in Mill valley, California and is known for its leveraged buyouts.

The firm is an early investor in businesses such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc. According to its SEC filing, it had $109 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.

TPG is one of the last big private equity firms to join the stock market. Its main peers have gone public already, including Apollo Global Management (AINV) , Blackstone (BX) , Carlyle Group (CG) and KKR (KKR) . Their stocks have skyrocketed this year, which have risen between 43% and 94% so far this year.

Overall, TPG has investments in more than 280 companies. The firmhas invested across sectors from retail to healthcare. Its first major investment was in the then bankrupt Continental Airlines in 1993. Its portfolio includes Airbnb Inc (ABNB.O), Burger King, Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N).

TPG has also launched several sector and region focused funds, including TPG Biotech and a growth equity platform which invested in online survey company SurveyMonkey (MNTV.O).

The company’s entertainment investments have included CAA, DirecTV, Entertainment Partners, Fandom, Spotify, STX Entertainment, Univision and Vice Media. CAA, for its part, in September announced plans to acquire ICM Partners.

TPG was also among the first private equity firms to invest in China, its website showed.

TPG generated revenue of $659.08 million and $685.12million in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 4%.

Fees and other revenues decreased by $148.5 million or 14% during thefiscal year 2019 ended December 31 and 2020. The decrease primarily consists of reductions in management fees and incentive fees, which was partially offset by an increase in transaction fees.