Twelve years ago, in 2010, the private equity firm New Mountain Capital acquired a little-known Wisconsin software company, RedPrairie, for $565 million. In September 2021 it sold that same company, now named Blue Yonder, for $8.5 billion to Panasonic. About $5.7 billion of the gain had come from organic growth, not acquisitions. That success wasn’t driven by any specific lucky break, technology breakthrough, or new product. Rather, it was the result of continual investment and improvement in the company’s management, strategy, and governance—the same approach that best-in-class private equity firms have employed for years across dozens of industries and thousands of companies. By explaining how New Mountain transformed Blue Yonder, this article shows how private equity firms create value for businesses and for the economy. And it underscores how much the PE industry has evolved since its inception.
Twelve years ago, in 2010, my private equity firm, New Mountain Capital, acquired a little-known Wisconsin software company, RedPrairie, for $565 million. In September 2021 we sold that same company, now named Blue Yonder, to Panasonic at a total value of $8.5 billion. About $5.7 billion of the gain had come from organic growth, not acquisitions.
