private industry private equity founded 2001 founder neal aronson founder & managing partner headquarters atlanta georgia united states products leveraged buyout total assets 6 billion number of employees 37 website roarkcapital.com roark capital group is an american private equity firm with over 6.3 billion in equity capital raised since inception that is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle market companies primarily in the franchise multi unit restaurant and food retail healthcare and business services sectors . the firm is named for howard roark the protagonist in ayn rand s novel the fountainhead . the firm s name is not meant to connote any particular political philosophy but instead signifies the firm s admiration for the iconoclastic qualities of independence and self assurance embodied by the fountainhead s central figure . citation needed contents 1 history 2 investments 3 references 4 external links history edit the firm which is based in atlanta georgia was founded in 2001 by the current managing partner neal k. aronson . senior team members include managing director & chief operating officer paul d. ginsberg and managing directors timothy armstrong stephen d. aronson toby chambers ezra s. field erik morris and steven romaniello . prior to founding roark capital group aronson was a co founder of u.s. franchise systems . roark has raised four institutional private equity funds . the firm raised its first institutional fund in 2005 with 413 million . 1 the firm s second fund was closed in 2008 with 1 billion of investor commitments . 2 the firm s third institutional fund was closed in 2012 with 1.5 billion of investor commitments . 3 the firm s fourth fund was closed in december 2014 with 2.5 billion in investor commitments . prior to its first fund roark raised capital on an as needed basis investing approximately 150 million in seven companies from 2001 through 2005 . investments edit roark s current and former portfolio companies include anytime fitness arby s atkins nutritionals batteries plus cke restaurants carl s jr. hardee s green burrito and red burrito fastsigns driven brands maaco meineke focus brands auntie anne s. 4 carvel 5 6 cinnabon 7 mcalister s deli moe s southwest grill 8 schlotzsky s 9 drybar llc gfl great expressions dental centers il fornaio 10 corner bakery cafe massage envy spas miller s ale house naf naf grill orangetheory fitness petvalu and bosley s petstores pet supermarket primrose schools qualawash simply floored solterra recycling the home service store wingstop references edit us roark capital group closes first institutional private equity fund on 413m . altassets march 1 2005 roark closes second private equity fund on 1bn . altassets february 4 2008 1 http www.centralpennbusiness.com article multiple 84142 atlanta franchisor to acquire auntie annes equity firm buys controlling stake in carvel . new york times december 11 2001 new roark capital screams ice cream . reuters buyouts january 7 2002 cached focus brands to buy cinnabon from afc enterprises . new york times september 9 2004 focus brands buys moe s southwest grill restaurant news qsr magazine focus brands buying schlotzsky s austin business journal november 20 2006 . atlanta s roark capital buys il fornaio parent firm . san francisco chronicle . 2011 06 14 . external links edit roark capital group company website v t e private equity and venture capital basic investment types buyout venture mezzanine growth secondaries equity co investment history history of private equity and venture capital early history of private equity private equity in the 1980s private equity in the 1990s private equity in the 2000s terms and concepts buyout financial sponsor management buyout divisional buyout buy sell agreement leveraged recapitalization dividend recapitalization venture angel investor business incubator post money valuation pre money valuation seed money startup company venture capital financing venture debt venture round structure private equity firms and funds limited partnership limited liability company carried interest management fee publicly traded private equity business development company venture capital trust private investment in public equity pipe pledge fund investors corporations institutional investors pension funds insurance companies fund of funds endowments foundations investment banks merchant banks commercial banks high net worth individuals family offices sovereign wealth funds crowdfunding related financial terms aum cap table capital call capital commitment capital structure distribution waterfall ebitda envy ratio high yield debt ipo irr leverage liquidation preference m & a pme taxation of private equity and hedge funds undercapitalization vintage year private equity and venture capital investors private equity firms venture capital firms angel investors portfolio companies retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title roark capital group & oldid 743264320 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