Here's what I found on the Leonard Green Partners web site:
http://www.leonardgreen.com/InvestmentPhilosophy.htm
MARKET LEADERS
We have a long and successful history of investing in industry leaders.
STRONG MANAGEMENT
We rely heavily on our management partners to execute the operational and strategic business plan for the companies that we invest in. Therefore, it is critical that we team with the best managements in the industry.
TRANSACTION SIZE
We have the capability of completing transactions up to $5 billion in enterprise value, with most transactions being between $500 million and $2 billion in enterprise value.
GROWTH COMPANIES
Our investment philosophy is to target cash flow positive businesses that have the ability to grow by at least 50% over a five-year period.
LONG-TERM INVESTOR
We are patient investors and have held positions in some of our portfolio companies more than ten years.
We have repeatedly demonstrated our ability to successfully originate, negotiate, consummate and realize investments in a variety of different industries and economic environments. In addition to our internal efforts, we work extensively with investment bankers, business brokers and other intermediaries to source investment opportunities.
We partner with management to enhance the value of companies through operational improvements, acquisitions, financial engineering and other strategic initiatives.
We have had significant success in structuring transactions to meet the needs of all parties involved. Types of investments that we have completed in the past include public-to-private transactions, recapitalizations of privately held businesses, growth capital, equity capital to facilitate acquisitions, turnarounds and restructuring investments and acquisitions of divisions/assets from large corporations.