Symphony Technology Group is an American private equity firm based in Palo Alto, California. The company’s fund, the Symphony Technology Fund, has managed over $2 billion of capital across four funds since it was founded in 2000. Its portfolio includes over 50 companies, with major holdings in several listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ stock exchanges as well as other unlisted technology companies around the world.
About Symphony Technology Group:
Symphony Technology Group is an American private equity firm based in Palo Alto, California. It invests in technology companies in North America and Israel. The firm was founded by former Deutsche Bank and Fidelity Investments executives in 2000. Most of its investments are between $10 million and $40 million, with a focus on Internet infrastructure companies. In 2009, it acquired Plum tree Software for $250 million after a bidding war with Apex Partners it later sold it to Oracle for $736 million in 2013.
Following a pair of initial public offerings, in April and July of 2000, it took on its current name and set up offices in Palo Alto, California. Today, it has a multi-pronged investment strategy. One prong is to invest in technology companies as an early or late stage investor through its four core funds. The second is to make large acquisitions of whole businesses. These are done both with capital from investors and internally generated cash flow.
Symphony’s Most Successful Investments:
The company was founded in 2000 by entrepreneur George A. Chang and has raised over $3 billion to date. Symphony’s portfolio currently contains more than 175 companies with a combined market value of $60 billion among them are some of Silicon Valley’s most well-known brands.
In 2011, Symphony Technology acquired its first non-technology investment when it purchased Napster for $105 million. In 2013, Symphony led a group of investors who purchased Neiman Marcus for $6 billion dollars.
It also has an office in Beijing through its joint venture called Symphony Technology Capital China Partners which was formed to invest exclusively into Chinese companies that have a U.S.-based business model or are looking to expand into North America.
In addition to its private equity group, it also offers other services including mergers & acquisitions advisory services (through its global network of independent firms), restructuring advisory services (through its subsidiary Symphony Restructuring Advisors), investment banking (through its affiliate firm Symphony Capital Corporation) and corporate finance advisory services (through Symphony Financial Partners).
Why Should You Work With Symphony?
I’ve worked with many venture capital firms and can say from experience that it’s best to find a match. And if you want to work with a firm that will be dedicated to your company for as long as you want, Symphony Technology Group is for you. With nearly three decades of operational and financial expertise, our team has developed expertise in every aspect of growing companies from evaluating business models and making sound investments to helping drive strategic initiatives to ensure success post-investment.
Symphony Technology, Whether you need help creating your brand strategy or looking at new ways to reach customers, we have solutions at hand. And because we feel strongly about nurturing our portfolio companies through growth, you can be confident knowing we will always provide your business with expert guidance. It all comes down to building strong relationships, which is why we make time for both phone calls and in-person meetings.
As an entrepreneur yourself, you know how hard it can be to balance multiple responsibilities—and often times that means neglecting friends and family. At OPS Technology, though, things are different. We understand how important personal connections are and do everything possible to maintain them throughout our partnership with you (and yours with us.
You may not think so now but believe me when I tell you that having someone on your side who knows what challenges lie ahead will save you a lot of headaches down the road! If you’re ready to get started on your journey, give us a call today. Our experts are waiting to hear from you. The first step toward reaching your goals is by taking action.
