Private Equity · Profile from Private Equity Research Companion
Onex Corporation
Toronto-based, TSX-listed (ONEX) private equity and credit manager founded in 1984 by Gerald W. "Gerry" Schwartz. Onex is Canada's oldest and best-known PE firm and unusual globally: a publicly listed holding company that invests its own balance sheet alongside third-party funds (Onex Partners, ONCAP, Onex Credit). It is known for large corporate carve-outs (Celestica from IBM, Spirit AeroSystems from Boeing, Allison Transmission from GM, Carestream from Kodak, SIG from Rank), for Canadian national champions (WestJet), and for a long run of strong early-fund returns followed by a weaker 2010s–2020s period and a persistent discount to NAV.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1984, Toronto, Ontario; listed on the TSX in 1987
- Founder
- Gerald W. Schwartz (Chairman; CEO 1984–2023)
- CEO (2026)
- Bobby Le Blanc (CEO since 2023, reported)
- AUM
- Reported ~US$50bn including credit and Onex's own capital (2024–2025); fee-generating AUM is lower; verify against latest disclosures
- Platforms
- Onex Partners (large-cap PE), ONCAP (mid-market PE), Onex Credit (CLOs, private credit; Onex Falcon), formerly Gluskin Sheff (wealth management, acquired 2019)
- Signature tools
- Carve-outs, the "ownership mentality" (Onex management invests heavily in each deal), balance-sheet co-investment (~10–25% of each fund)
11 deals and moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1996
Celestica
Corporate Carve-Out from IBM
2005
Emergency Medical Services
Carve-Out from Laidlaw
2005
Spirit AeroSystems
Corporate Carve-Out
2007
Allison Transmission
Carve-Out from General Motors with Carlyle
2007
Carestream Health
Corporate Carve-Out
2007
Hawker Beechcraft
Carve-Out with GS Capital Partners
2010
Tomkins
UK Take-Private with CPPIB
2011
JELD WEN
Rescue / Structured Equity Investment
2015
SIG Combibloc
Acquisition from Rank Group
2018
Ryan Specialty
Growth / Structured Minority Investment
2019
WestJet
Take-Private