L Catterton Research
Investment Thesis
L Catterton describes itself as "the world's leading consumer growth investor." Founded in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1989 as Catterton-Simon Partners, the firm merged in January 2016 with Bernard Arnault's family office (Financiere Agache) and LVMH Moet Hennessy - Louis Vuitton to form L Catterton, combining Catterton's North American and Latin American private equity operations with LVMH and Groupe Arnault's European and Asian private equity and real estate operations. The firm now invests across the entire consumer landscape - food and beverage, beauty and personal care, apparel and accessories, health and wellness, and consumer services and retail - and positions itself as the largest and most experienced consumer-focused private equity group in the world, with roughly $40 billion in assets under management and more than 300 investments since founding.
Stage Focus
L Catterton is a multi-platform private equity firm rather than a traditional venture investor. It invests across six fund platforms: L Catterton Flagship Buyout, L Catterton North American Growth, L Catterton Middle Market, L Catterton Latin America, L Catterton Europe, L Catterton Asia, plus L Catterton Real Estate and a Private Credit strategy. This spans early-to-late-stage growth equity (minority checks into emerging consumer brands) through full buyouts and take-privates of established companies (e.g., Del Frisco's Restaurant Group, Birkenstock, KIKO Milano, Hyrox).
Check Size
Check sizes vary widely by platform. Asia growth investments typically target companies with enterprise values of $50 million to $150 million. The Middle Market and Buyout platforms have historically targeted enterprise values from $100 million to more than $1 billion, and recent buyout-scale deals (e.g., the 2026 Hyrox transaction) have approached $700 million. Growth-stage minority checks are commonly in the tens of millions.
Lead Tendency
L Catterton predominantly leads and frequently takes majority or controlling stakes, particularly through its Buyout and Middle Market platforms (Del Frisco's, Birkenstock, KIKO Milano, Hyrox). Growth-platform investments are sometimes minority stakes alongside co-investors.
Recent Activity
The firm closed $11 billion for global consumer investments in May 2025, including more than $6.75 billion for its Flagship Buyout strategy. In September 2026, an L Catterton-led consortium agreed to acquire a majority stake in fitness competition brand Hyrox at a valuation near $700 million. In May 2026, L Catterton sold its majority stake in D2C apparel brand Everlane to Shein at a steep discount to its earlier valuation. Other recent transactions include a strategic partnership with Japanese fishing-gear maker Megabass (January 2025), a roughly $30 million investment in Indian proctology clinic chain Healing Hands Clinic (October 2025), the acquisition of a majority stake in Italian beauty retailer KIKO Milano from the Percassi family (April 2024), and the acquisition of Naomi Watts' menopause-focused beauty brand Stripes Beauty (June 2024).
Portfolio Highlights
Notable current and historical portfolio companies span the full consumer landscape: Birkenstock, Peloton, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, KIKO Milano, TULA Skincare, Sweaty Betty, NotCo, Nutrafol, Cholula Hot Sauce, Kodiak Cakes, Gentle Monster, Pinarello, Freetrade, Il Makiage, Vroom, Hyrox, and Megabass. Notable exits include Everlane (sold to Shein, 2026), Del Frisco's Restaurant Group (sold to Landry's, 2019), Restoration Hardware, Build-A-Bear Workshop, P.F. Chang's, Baja Fresh, and Nature's Variety.
Team
- Scott A. Dahnke, Global CEO - broad background across private equity, consulting, and operating management
- J. Michael Chu, Chairman & Co-Founder - one of the firm's original 1989 founders
- Marc Magliacano, Managing Partner, Buyout Fund
- Andrew C. Taub, Managing Partner, Buyout Fund - nearly 30 years at the firm since joining in 1996
- Michael J. Farello, Managing Partner, Middle Market Fund
- Jonathan H. Owsley, Managing Partner, Growth Fund
- Anthony Marino, Managing Partner - former President of ThredUP
- Luigi Feola, Managing Partner, L Catterton Europe - 25+ years in global luxury and consumer retail
- Scott Chen, Managing Partner, L Catterton Asia
- Farah Khan, Managing Partner, L Catterton Latin America
- Dirk Donath, Managing Partner, L Catterton Latin America - previously Senior Managing Director at Eton Park Capital Management
- Dennis Ever, Managing Partner, Capital Solutions / Private Credit
Decision Process
As an institutional multi-platform private equity firm, L Catterton runs formal investment-committee processes per platform (Buyout, Growth, Middle Market, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Real Estate, Private Credit), each led by its own Managing Partners, rather than a single solo-GP or firm-wide partnership vote.
Founder Preferences
L Catterton favors proven consumer brands with defensible positioning, strong unit economics, and secularly advantaged sub-categories (its own language emphasizes "fundamentally attractive and secularly advantaged" categories). It works with both founder-led businesses seeking growth capital and family- or founder-owned businesses seeking a full buyout and operational partner (e.g., the Percassi family at KIKO Milano, the Birkenstock family).
Geographic Focus
L Catterton invests globally through dedicated regional platforms: North America (Greenwich, CT headquarters and New York), Europe (Paris), Asia (Singapore), and Latin America, plus a dedicated Real Estate platform. The firm operates 17-18 offices worldwide and maintains a strategic relationship with LVMH and Groupe Arnault.