Private Equity-owned Companies in Times Square 

3 Times Square

Private equity owner: Silver Lake Partners

Owned by private equity: 2005-2006

Deal value: Bought for $208 million, rumored to have sold for $1 billion

Employees: 1,000

The saying goes, “sometimes you have to spend money to make money.” In the big money world of private equity, that maxim doesn’t necessarily apply. Silver Lake partners bought the global brokerage company Instinet for a song in 2005. Instinet became part of a multi-company financial services empire for Silver Lake, allowing them to have a hand in virtually every phase of securities and stock transactions. That kind of expertise paid off for Silver Lake, who realized a nearly 400% return “insti-profit” on their investment in less than a year. We bet those original shareholders wish they’d had a better financial advisor when they sold to Silver Lake