Industry Focus

WBCP targets four broad growth sectors for investment, each of which has potential long-term growth characteristics, is aligned with the investment expertise of WBCP and leverages the research depth and network of the William Blair & Company growth equity franchise. These targeted industry sectors are business and financial services, consumer, healthcare products and services and technology. Throughout our respective careers, we have concentrated on these industry segments, developing substantial investment experience, generating strong investment results and establishing significant contacts that provide unique resources for our portfolio companies. In addition, these sectors reflect the focus and expertise of the William Blair & Company’s research and investment banking activities, which has proven to be a valuable resource to our private equity investing activities.

Business and Financial Services  |  Consumer  |  Health Care Services and Products  |  Technology

Business and Financial Services

With the experience of having invested more than $360 million in this market segment, WBCP continues to evaluate quality investment opportunities in this vast sector. When evaluating potential opportunities, WBCP identifies companies that are, or are positioned to be, either national or regional market leaders, often in industries that are delivering an inadequate level of services to a demanding and dissatisfied industrial or business customer base. Further, WBCP will evaluate companies that identify and capitalize on an emerging market trend, are well-positioned in a high-growth market segment with growth available both organically and through acquisition or offer services to meet an underserved business need. The common theme across these investments is market growth and market share.

WBCP recognizes the importance of the ‘people as assets’ nature of business and financial services companies, from the top on down. WBCP finances experienced business executives who have a proven business model that does not depend solely on acquisition of scale for success, but which has sustainable operating and business systems advantages that improve quality and/or lower cost for the customer. We seek to build shareholder value through profit and market share leverage, rather than solely through financial leverage.

While WBCP welcomes investment opportunities across the business and financial services segment, the following represent areas of specific interest to WBCP.

Back to top

Consumer

WBCP will continue to seek outstanding growth companies in the consumer market segment that are looking for capital to expand through organic growth, regional expansion or through acquisition of other market players. In addition to other opportunities, WBCP will primarily evaluate opportunities in two niches within the consumer segment that both have provided attractive returns in the past and continue to be favorably affected by market trends. Specifically, WBCP will evaluate companies involved in the sale of new and novel products and services to the consumer as well as the sale of well-established products in new and novel ways. Within each type of investment, WBCP is looking for growing, well-managed companies with strong management teams that are, or have the potential to become, leaders in their market niche.

Back to top

Health Care Products and Services

With extensive experience in healthcare investing, WBCP will continue to evaluate investment opportunities across a wide range of market sub-sectors, including medical devices, biopharmaceutical and healthcare services. To capitalize on trends in the medical device industry, WBCP will invest in innovative companies whose products address unmet medical needs. Therapeutic areas of particular interest to the WBCP include disciplines in which relatively little capital has been historically deployed such as gastroenterology, neurology/neurosurgery and cosmetic surgery and aesthetics, although the WBCP will also seek investment opportunities in the orthopedic, spine and cardiovascular segments.

In the biopharmaceutical industry, WBCP plans to invest primarily in companies that have late-stage (phase II clinical trials or later) compounds or that have approved products. We will also pursue opportunities to start and nurture focused pharmaceutical companies that target specialties (such as dermatology, neurology, rheumatology and gastroenterology) and small market products (those with annual revenues of $50 million to $300 million) that have not generated strong commercial or development interest from large pharmaceutical companies.

WBCP also plans to consider investments in companies that provide healthcare services to patients whether in the outpatient or short-stay setting and companies that provide outsourced business services to larger healthcare providers such as hospitals or surgery centers. Specifically, WBCP has a strong interest in service companies that pursue segments of the healthcare economy in which the patient pays directly for the service (as, for example, in aesthetics or executive health) or that provide business-to-business services to healthcare providers. Nonetheless, WBCP will also consider investments in companies that provide medical services to governmental healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Back to top

Technology

WBCP has invested in technology companies for more than 20 years. As technology has changed and progressed, our investments reflect these changes. Currently, we believe that the next areas for growth will be in applications that harness the increased connectivity in order to increase productivity as well as in infrastructure (such as hardware, software and semiconductors) that extends the reach of communications seamlessly across the various mediums (wireless, wireline and cable) with high reliability and security. Some examples of potential target markets are listed below:

• Wireless semiconductors
• Consumer electronic semiconductors and software
• Wireless Internet
• Software as service

Within these and other sub-segments of the technology sector, WBCP VIII will seek to invest in technology-based product or services companies across the semiconductor, infrastructure and software segments with a focus on many of the following attributes.

• Platform technology (core technology can be applied to multiple markets across multiple product lines)
• Scaleable and capital efficient business model
• Market opportunity validated by customers
• Disruptive technology but non-disruptive implementation
• Investment required for product development, sales, marketing and operations – not for technology development
• Defensible and sustainable technology lead
• Multiple exit opportunities including acquisition and IPO
• Compelling growth rates appropriate for business model

Back to top