Silver Lake Raises $15 Billion Fund for New Tech Deals -
By MICHAEL J. de la MERCEDAPRIL 17, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO — Over the past decade, the investment firm Silver Lake has spearheaded some of the most prominent private equity deals involving technology
and media, including the takeovers of Dell Inc. and Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Jim Davidson, a co-founder who was listed as one of the managers of the firm’s fourth fund, will
not be listed as a manager for the fifth fund and will assume an emeritus status at the firm.
The new fund is also distinguished by a trivia note: It is the first fund not to feature any of Silver Lake’s founders as its general partners.
Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm focused on reviving older software companies,
has averaged returns of more than 20 percent, spurring a number of imitators.
Silver Lake’s new fund represents a huge sum, although it is far smaller than the $100 billion Vision fund
that SoftBank of Japan has assembled for technology-focused deals.