Private Equity · Profile from Private Equity Research Companion
Wesray Capital Corporation (1981 – early 1990s)
Historical firm. Wesray was the archetypal "first-wave" LBO boutique: two principals, no committed blind-pool fund, very small equity cheques, and very fast flips. Its 1982 Gibson Greetings deal is the single most cited data point in the early history of leveraged buyouts.
4 deals and moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1982
Gibson Greetings
Corporate Carve-Out LBO
1985
Western Auto
Management Buyout / Carve-Out LBO
1985
Wilson Sporting Goods
Corporate Carve-Out LBO
1986
Avis
Secondary Carve-Out LBO and ESOP Exit