Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital was founded in 1988 by former executives of the Genstar Corporation, a Canadian building materials and financial services company that had been sold to Imasco, Ltd. The newly independent firm initially raised a 100 million dollar pool of capital in 1989 to fund leveraged buyout transactions. In its early years, the firm focused primarily on investments in industrial manufacturing companies.

Starting in the mid 1990s, the firm shifted its focus toward growth sectors including industrial technology and healthcare. During the 2000s, the firm further expanded its investment scope to include financial services and software. Today, Genstar remains focused on middle market companies within these four core sectors.

The firm has raised approximately 17 billion dollars of committed capital across eleven investment funds since its inception. In 2024, it was ranked as the 25th largest private equity firm in the world by Private Equity International. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco and primarily targets investments in North American businesses.