The family of famous billionaire Thomas H. Lee announced Thursday that the pioneer of leveraged buyouts has passed away at the age of 78, with the New York Post reporting that the financier was found dead of a gunshot wound in his Manhattan office.
Lee’s family confirmed the man’s death in a statement, saying, “While the world knew him as one of the pioneers in private equity and a successful businessman, we knew him as a devoted husband, father, brother-grandfather, friend and philanthropist who always puts the needs of others before his own.”
While the statement said nothing about the circumstances surrounding Lee’s death, The Washington Post Quote Police sources, who did not name them, said that the businessman shot himself dead in his office.
Lee, who is listed by Forbes as having a net worth of $2 billion, started the company that became Thomas Lee Partners in 1974, but parted company in 2005.
Thomas Lee Partners pioneered leveraged buyouts – transactions in which investors take publicly traded companies privately using large amounts of borrowed money. If a buyout company subsequently succeeds in reselling or reselling an acquired company back at a higher price, the company can reap big rewards on the relatively small amount of its own money put up.
Under Lee’s direction, Thomas Lee Partners has led several famous and highly profitable leveraged buyouts, including the 1985 $28 million purchase of Sterling Jewelers and the 1992 acquisition of beverage giant Snapple for $135 million.
The company resold Sterling—now part of Signet Jewelers (SIG)—just two years later for $210 million. Similarly, Thomas Lee Partners sold Snapple just two years later to Quaker Oats, a unit of PepsiCo (PEP), for $1.7 billion.
After leaving Thomas Lee Partners, Lee founded the middle-market private equity firm Lee Equity Partners, where he served as chairman at the time of his death.
As for Thomas Lee Partners, current CEOs Todd Abrecht and Scott Sperling paid tribute to the firm’s founder Thursday in a statement, writing that “Tom was an iconic figure in private equity. He helped pioneer the industry and mentor generations of young professionals who have followed in his footsteps.” .
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