Private Equity · Profile from Private Equity Research Companion

Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (1989 – 2000s; successor HM Capital Partners)

Historical firm. Dallas-based Hicks Muse was one of the "big four" U.S. buyout houses of the late 1990s alongside KKR, Forstmann Little and Clayton Dubilier & Rice. It rode U.S. media deregulation to spectacular gains, then suffered heavy losses on Latin American and telecom/tech bets around 2000–2002. It split apart in 2004–2006: the European team became Lion Capital (the brief's "Lion Chemical" refers to this — Lion Capital is the correct name), Tom Hicks left to run Hicks Holdings, and the U.S. platform was renamed HM Capital Partners under John Muse.