Thomas H. Lee, a Pioneer in Leveraged Buyouts, Dies at 78

Famed billionaire Thomas H. Lee, considered a pioneer of private equity investments and leveraged buyouts, died. He was 78.

Lee, who was founder and CEO of Lee Equity, which he formed in 2006, and former chairman and CEO of Thomas H. Lee Partners, which he founded in 1974, was responsible for investing more than $15 billion in hundreds of transactions over a 46-year career.

Lee made a name by acquiring mid-sized companies, restoring their value and then selling them for exorbitant profits. His technique and success at the time was described as the envy of Wall Street.

His leveraged-buyout deals were famous in the 1990s – pioneering financial transactions which allowed his company to produce more than 30-fold gains in a matter of years at times.

One of his most high-profile deals was the acquisition of Snapple Beverages which he sold two years later for $1.7 billion, or 32x the price he paid.

The family’s spokesperson Michael Sitrick, in a statement, said, “While the world knew him as one of the pioneers in the private equity business and a successful businessman, we knew him as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, sibling, friend and philanthropist who always put others’ needs before his own.”