Fox Paine & Company

Founded in 1996 by former KKR partner Saul A. Fox, Fox Paine & Company established itself as a prominent West Coast private equity firm known for its ingenuity in handling complex deals. The firm successfully raised two primary funds: Fund I, which closed with $500 million in 1998, and Fund II, which raised $1 billion by 2001 and achieved a significant internal rate of return for its investors.

In 2007, following a period of internal disagreement regarding the raising of a third fund and the management of employees, the founding partners underwent a litigious separation. Under the resulting settlement, Saul Fox retained the Fox Paine name and control of Fund II investments, while Dexter Paine formed a new entity, eventually known as Paine Schwartz Partners, taking the majority of the investment team and control of Funds I and III.

Since the separation, Fox Paine has focused on maximizing the value of and exiting its remaining portfolio from Fund II. The firm's historical investment focus has spanned specialized property and casualty insurance, software, semiconductors, agribusiness, and healthcare. Its last remaining major investment, Global Indemnity Group, completed a U.S. re-domestication in 2020.