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Marc J. Leder
Born
Marc J. Leder

1962 (age 61–62)
Long Island, New York, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania Wharton School (BS)
OccupationBusinessman
Title
Spouse
Lisa J. Weisbein
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 2010)​
Children4
Websitewww.marcleder.com

Marc J. Leder (born in 1962) is an American businessman who co-founded Sun Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Boca Raton, Florida.[1] He is also a limited partner of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, and the Josh Harris Group, which owns Real Salt Lake of the MLS, the English Premier League's Crystal Palace F.C., and the NFL's Washington Commanders.

Early life and education

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Leder was born to a Jewish family and raised in the Long Island suburbs of New York City.[2][1] In 1979, Leder graduated from John L. Miller Great Neck North High School and in 1983, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he befriended his future business partner, Rodger Krouse.[3][4]

Career

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After graduating, Leder joined Lehman Brothers in January 1987 as an analyst, and worked his way up to Senior Vice President.[5] In 1995, he left Lehman's with Krouse to found the private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, Inc.[3]

Sun Capital Partners

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Main article: Sun Capital Partners

Leder and Krouse founded Sun Capital in 1995. They chose Boca Raton, Florida for their headquarters, believing the New York market was already too saturated and competitive.

Leder describes the difficult first five years for Sun Capital, saying he and Krouse were, "just two investment bankers trying to get into private equity." And, when he asked his private equity contacts for advice, they told him, "stick with investment banking."[6] Undeterred, Leder says they honed a careful strategy, which was "to buy companies that others didn't want to buy."[7] Through perseverance, their strategy proved successful, leading to nearly a decade of rapid growth until 2008, when the market downturn and global Great Recession took hold. That forced Leder and Krouse to retrench, and to once again rework their strategy, and by July 2013, Sun Capital had $8 billion in invested assets.[8]

Leder credits the lessons learned from the global recession for helping him guide Sun Capital's path through the COVID-19 Pandemic a decade later. He told RSM US, "We had the playbook for this pandemic—not the social distancing, but the dramatic economic impact, the deep recession we find ourselves in. And we shared that playbook with our management teams, and they were outstanding at getting and understanding the challenges that were facing them, whether it be employee safety and health, to cutting costs, to maintaining liquidity, to serving customers."[9]

As of January 2024, Sun Capital reports $14 billion in cumulative capital commitments from a portfolio of around 40 companies that employ nearly 28,000 people worldwide.[10]

The Sun Capital Partners Foundation

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In 2007, Leder and Krouse created the charitable arm of the company called the Sun Capital Partners Foundation. The foundation pools and triple-matches employee contributions.[11] The foundation says its goal is to "promote sustainable, positive change" by working with local nonprofit organizations.[11] Since its inception, the Sun Capital Foundation reports over $17 million in donations to over 700 charities.[11]

Criticism

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In 2012, The New York Times wrote that to his critics Leder represented everything that's wrong with the private equity business, noting that: "In recent years, a large number of the companies that Sun Capital has acquired have run into serious trouble, eliminated jobs or both. Since 2008, some 25 of its companies — roughly one of every five it owns — have filed for bankruptcy. Among the losers was Friendly's, the restaurant chain ... (Sun Capital was accused by a federal agency of pushing Friendly’s into bankruptcy ... to avoid paying pensions to the chain’s employees; Sun disputes that contention.) Another company that sank into bankruptcy was Real Mex, owner of the Chevy’s restaurant chain. In that case, Mr. Leder lost money for his investors not once, but twice."[12][13][14]

Investments in Professional Sports Franchises

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Leder is a member of an investment group led by Josh Harris that purchased the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers for $280 million in 2011.[15][16][17] Leder is also a limited partner of another Harris-led group that purchased the New Jersey Devils of the NHL and the Newark, New Jersey Prudential Center arena for $320 million in 2013.[18][19][20] Then, in 2015, Leder again joined Harris in buying a controlling stake in Crystal Palace F.C. of the English Premier League.[21] In 2022, Leder was part of a group led by Harris's longtime business partner, David Blitzer that purchased Real Salt Lake, which competes in Major League Soccer's Western Conference (MLS).[22] Finally, in 2023, Leder again partnered with Harris to purchase the NFL's Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion, the highest price ever paid for a North American sports franchise.[23]

Personal life

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Leder has three children with his ex-wife Lisa J. Weisbein. They were married from 1987 until divorcing in 2010.[24] In January 2012, Leder had another daughter with his girlfriend at the time. He told the New York Post that he agreed to a "generous and amicable agreement over child support.[25]

Politics

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Dating back to his early contacts with private equity firm Bain Capital, Leder has been a personal and financial supporter of the United States Senator from Utah, Mitt Romney, including during the Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign in which he became the Republican Presidential Nominee. During the 2012 election cycle, Reuters reports that "out of the $337,000 Leder has spent in political donations in this election season, $321,600 has gone to Mitt Romney and other Republicans and Republican-aligned groups."[26]

However, Leder is also known to make donations to certain progressive groups and leaders, including liberal activist and recording artist Russell Simmons to support his nonprofit work in the arts.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b Foroohar, Kambiz (October 1, 2008). "Blackstone, Apollo Outshone as Sun Capital Buys Boston Market". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Guttman, Nathan (September 18, 2012). "Romney Trashes Two-State Solution in Video". The Jewish Daily Forward. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Stocks". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Private Equity International: "Rising Sun" by David Snow October 2006
  5. ^ Powerhouses in Private Equity: Sun Capital's Marc Leder July 2019
  6. ^ "Powerhouses in Private Equity: Sun Capital's Marc Leder (Published July 2019)". YouTube. January 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "Marc J. Leder: On What It Takes to Be a Leder (Published April 2016)". HuffPost. January 9, 2024.
  8. ^ Hoovers: Sun Capital Partners retrieved July 2013
  9. ^ "Sun Capital in the eye of the distress storm (Published April 2016)". RSM US. July 2020.
  10. ^ Sun Capital Partners retrieved January 2024
  11. ^ a b c Sun Capital Partners retrieved January 2024
  12. ^ Timothy Spangler (2016). One Step Ahead; Private Equity and Hedge Funds After the Global Financial Crisis
  13. ^ "In a Romney Believer, Private Equity's Risks and Rewards". The New York Times. January 21, 2012.
  14. ^ "Romney "47 Percent" Fundraiser Host: Hedge Fund Manager Who Likes Sex Parties".
  15. ^ Fagan, Kate (July 13, 2011). "76ers sale deal is done". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Fagan, Kate (August 2, 2011). "Those who know him say Joshua Harris, soon-to-be Sixers owner, lives for competition and success". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013.
  17. ^ "Group Led by Joshua Harris Completes Purchase of Sixers" (Press release). Philadelphia 76ers. October 18, 2011. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018.
  18. ^ "NJ Devils Partners and Senior Leadership". New Jersey Devils.
  19. ^ "Josh Harris Buys The New Jersey Devils". KYW-TV. Associated Press. August 15, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  20. ^ Golden, Jessica (March 24, 2020). "76ers, Devils reverse decision to cut salaries up to 20% due to coronavirus hiatus". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  21. ^ "Sixers owner Josh Harris buys into Crystal Palace soccer club". NBC News. December 19, 2015.
  22. ^ Stejskal, Sam (January 12, 2022). "What Real Salt Lake should expect from David Blitzer, a new owner with stakes in Crystal Palace, the 76ers and more". The Athletic.
  23. ^ Keim, John (July 20, 2023). "NFL owners approve $6.05B sale of Commanders to Harris group". ESPN.
  24. ^ Ostrowski, Jeff (July 10, 2009). "Sun Capital co-founder worth more than $400 million, wife says". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013.
  25. ^ "'47 Percent' Host Had Another Election-Year Surprise (Published November 2012)". New York Magazine. January 10, 2024.
  26. ^ "Spotlight on Romney fundraising host Leder (Published September 2012)". Reuters. January 10, 2024.
  27. ^ "Marc Leder Is Secretive GOP Fundraiser (Published September 2012)". Forward. January 10, 2024.
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