Roark Capital, Warburg Pincus Both Near a Million Employees at Their Portfolio Companies Following Recent Acquisitions
April 23, 2021
In the last six months, a few private equity buyouts have dramatically increased the number of people working for private equity-owned companies.
In October 2020, Roark Capital acquired Dunkin’ Brands, which has 330,000 people working at its Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores. This, along with other acquisitions last year, pushed the total number of people working at Roark-owned companies or their franchisees to close to 1 million.
In March 2021, private equity firm Warburg Pincus purchased the security company G4S, which has over 533,000 employees worldwide. Warburg Pincus already owned the security firm Allied Universal which has 300,000 employees. Together with a several smaller companies, Warburg Pincus-owned companies now employ over 850,000 people.
Based on PESP’s review of portfolio companies, the top five US private equity firms by employees are:
- Roark Capital – 950,000+ employees
- Warburg Pincus – 850,000+ employees
- Apollo Global Management – 497,000+ employees
- KKR – 417,000+ employees
- Cerberus Capital – 365,000+ employees
| Roark Capital – 950,000+ Total Employees (including employees of franchises) | |||
| Company | Industry | # of Employees | Year Acquired |
| Inspire Brands (Arbys, Baskin Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin, Jimmy Johns, Rusty Taco, Sonic) | Food service | 650,000 | 2011-2020 |
| CKE Restaurants (Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Green Burrito) | Food service | 75,000 | 2013 |
| Cheesecake Factory (17% stake) (Also Flower Child, North Italia) | Food service | 46,250 | 2020 |
| Service Master (AmeriSpec, Furniture Medic, Merry Maids, Service Master) | Facility Management | 46,000 | 2020 |
| Massage Envy | Retail | 35,000 | 2019 |
| Culver Franchising System (minority interest) | Food service | 25,000 | 2017 |
| Focus Brands (Auntie Annes, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky’s, Seattle’s Best) | Food service | 10,200 | 2001-2020 |
| Anytime Fitness | Gyms | 10,000 | 2014 |
| Carstar | Auto Services | 8,000 | 2015 |
| Miller’s Ale House | Food service | 8,000 | 2013 |
| Orange Theory Fitness | Gyms | 7,300 | 2016 |
| Abra | Auto Services | 5,000 | 2019 |
| Primrose Schools | Childcare/ Early Ed | 3,650 | 2006 |
| Batteries + Bulbs | Retail | 3,000 | 2007 |
| Drybar | Retail | 3,000 | 2016 |
| Nothing Bundt Cakes | Food Service | 2,100 | 2021 |
| Automotive Training Institute | Auto Service | 1,600 | 2019 |
| Pet Valu | Retail | 1,600 | 2009 |
| Great Expressions Dental Centers | Health care | 900 | 2016 |
| 800-Raditaor | Auto Services | 500 | 2015 |
| Divisions Maintenance Group | Facility Management | 500 | 2020 |
| Maaco | Auto Services | 500 | 2008 |
| Pet Supermarket | Retail | 500 | 2015 |
| Uniban | Retail | 350 | 2019 |
| IMO Car Wash Group | Auto Services | 250 | 2017 |
| Solterra Recycling | Facility Management | 200 | 2014 |
| Warburg Pincus – 830,000+ Total Employees | |||
| Company | Industry | # of Employees | Year Acquired |
| Allied Universal/ G4S | Security | 833,000 | 2018, 2020 |
| CityMD | Healthcare | 8,000 | 2017 |
| Gabe’s/ Rugged Wearhouse | Retail | 6,300 | 2017 |
| Sotera Health | Healthcare | 3,000 | 2015 |
| Service Logic | Facility Management | 3,000 | 2020 |
| Pregis | Manufacturing | 2,250 | 2018 |
| KKR – 450,000+ Total Employees | |||
| Company | Industry | # of Employees | Year Acquired |
| Envision Healthcare | Healthcare-Patient transportation, Staffing | 69,000 | 2018 |
| Brightspring/ Pharmerica | Healthcare-Home care, Pharma | 56,000 | 2019 |
| Fiserv (13% stake) | Information Technology | 44,000 | 2019 |
| Global Medical Response | Healthcare-Patient transportation | 38,000 | 2017 |
| Laureate Education (LAUR) (11% stake) | Education | 32,000 | 2007 |
| U.S. Foods (10% stake) | Foodservice Distributor | 26,000 | 2020 |
| Apple Leisure Group | Leisure facilities, Travel | 25,000 | 2017 |
| Academy Sports + Outdoors | Retail | 22,000 | 2011 |
| Brightview Landscapes (BV) (48% stake) | Facility management | 19,700 | 2013 |
| Coty | Cosmetics | 18,260 | 2020 |
| Heartland Dental Care | Healthcare-Dental | 13,000 | 2018 |
| Fleet Farm | Retail | 8,000 | 2016 |
| USI Insurance Services | Insurance | 8,000 | 2017 |
| BMC Software | Information Technology | 6,785 | 2018 |
| Cardenas Markets | Retail-Grocery | 6,630 | 2016 |
| PetVet Care Centers | Veterinary | 4,000 | 2018 |
| The Nature’s Bounty Co. | Food Manufacturing | 4,150 | 2017 |
| Epic Games | Information Technology | 5,000 | 2018 |
| Bay Club | Gyms | 4,000 | 2018 |
| Focus Financial Partners (10% stake) | Wealth management | 4,000 | 2017 |
| Borden Dairy | Food Production | 3,300 | 2020 |
| Apollo Global Management – 497,000+ Total Employees | |||
| Company | Industry | # of Employees | Year Acquired |
| Alorica | Call Centers | 100,000 | 2019 |
| Swissport | Airline Service | 45,000 | 2020 |
| LifePoint Health | Healthcare-Hospitals | 60,000 | 2018 |
| Venetian Resorts and Sands Expo | Hospitality/ Leisure | 11,200 | 2021 |
| Michaels | Retail | 45,000 | 2021 |
| Constellis Group | Security | 22,000 | 2016 |
| Tech Data/ SYNNEX | Information Tech | 22,000 | |
| ADT | Electronic Security | 20,500 | 2016 |
| ClubCorp | Leisure facilities | 20,000 | 2017 |
| Expedia | Travel | 20,000 | 2016 |
| Continuum Global Solutions | BPO-Call Centers | 17,000 | 2019 |
| CEC Entertainment (Chuck E Cheese) | Food service | 16,400 | 2014 |
| Qdoba | Food service | 16,000 | 2018 |
| The Fresh Market | Retail-Grocery | 13,000 | 2016 |
| Smart & Final Stores | Retail-Grocery | 11,200 | 2019 |
| Apollo Education Group | Education | 18,500 | 2017 |
| New Holland Apparel | Apparel | 9,000 | 2016 |
| Diamond Resorts | Hospitality/ Leisure | 8,250 | 2016 |
| Shutterfly | Printing | 7,300 | 2019 |
| Lumileds Lighting | Manufacturing | 7,000 | 2017 |
| Maxim Crane Works | Construction | 3,750 | 2016 |
| McGraw Hill Education | Education | 2,900 | 2013 |
| Sun Country Airlines | Transportation | 1,700 | 2018 |
| Cerberus Capital – 390,000+ Total Employees | |||
| Company | Industry | # of Employees | Year Acquired |
| Albertsons (32% stake) | Retail-Grocery | 300,000 | 2006, 2013 |
| WFS Global | Airline service | 23,000 | 2018 |
| Electrical Components International | Manufacturing | 20,000 | 2018 |
| Kellermeyer Bergensons Services | Facility management | 11,000 | 2019 |
| ABC Technologies | Manufacturing | 7,500 | 2016 |
| National Dentex | Dental | 4,000 | 2020 |
