Why Court Square Capital Partners: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Court Square Capital Partners Overview

Court Square Capital Partners is a private equity firm which is focused on making leveraged buyout transactions. The firm was originally Citigroup’s private equity firm, known as Citigroup Venture Capital Equity Partners.

In 2006, Court Square spun out of Citigroup and got the name from Citigroup’s location at One Court Square in Queens.

Court Square specializes in the following industries:

• Business Services
• Healthcare
• Industrials
• Tech & Telecom

They usually invest between $75 MM – $350 MM in equity in businesses that have an enterprise value of $150 MM – $1.5 BB.

Court Square has a generalist approach, but it often prefers to invest in companies that are in the transportation, technology and telecommunications, media, industrials, manufacturing, healthcare, food products and services, chemicals, business services, and consumer products sectors. 

Court Square Capital Partners was co-founded by Joe Silvestri, Dave Thomas, and Mike Delaney when they led the spinoff of the firm from Citigroup in 2006.

Court Square Capital Partners AUM

According to most recent regulatory filings, Court Square Capital Partners has $7.4 BB in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

Court Square Capital Partners Interview Process & Questions

Firms can make modifications in their interview process for every candidate. But there are some parts of the process that remains consistent if you interview at Court Square Capital Partners (or a firm like it) such as the following:

• 4-6 rounds of interviews
• Junior professionals or the HR team lead the firt few rounds, while the later rounds are handled by more senior staff
• The whole process usually takes several weeks – unless it is “on-campus” or “on-cycle” recruiting

Interviews at Court Square Capital Partners typically include fit questions, technical / investing questions, and behavioral questions.

If you need help with your interview preparation, check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Why Court Square Capital Partners

“Why this firm” is a common and critical question you’ll get during interviews.

If you’ve met professionals who work at the firm you’re applying for during your networking efforts, this is the right opportunity to mention whoever you’ve met and share how they’ve influenced your decision to join the firm.

Before showing up at interviews, another good practice is doing some research about the firm. For this, you can listen to interviews with its founders, investors, and employees.

For starters, here’s an excellent interview with Brian Schmidt, Vice President at Court Square Capital Partners:

Court Square Capital Partners Case Study

Case studies almost always show up during the interview process. That’s because investment firms use it to evaluate their candidates’ communication skills and technical knowledge.

Most case studies at firms like Court Square Capital Partners revolve around investment recommendations and financial modeling. For junior roles, cold calling case study may also be required as well.

For more detailed discussion of case studies, check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Court Square Capital Partners Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, if you work at Court Square Capital Partners as an Analyst, you can earn an estimated total pay of $104K per year. If you’re an associate, your total pay is approximately $139K per year. Figures may vary depending on the candidate’s level of experience, education, and skill set.

Analyst

Associate

From other publicly available data, associates at Court Square have earned $105K per year, while there’s no data for recent analyst hires.

Court Square Capital Partners Careers, Jobs, & Internships

To view vacancies at Court Square Capital Partners, go to our job board where we also feature open roles at similar firms.

Court Square Capital Partners Portfolio & Investments

Court Square Capital Partners made 240+ platform investments according to their website, with 17 acquisitions as per Crunchbase. Some of their notable deals include Connatix, Dynata, and Drew Marine.

Notable Transaction: Auto Europe

Auto Europe is a distributor and provider of international car rentals that has been helpful to travelers who need rental vehicles at a competitive rate.

The Company serves more than 180 countries around the world, and operates under many leading global brands such as DriveAway Holidays, Kemwel, and Auto Europe.

They also offer luxury and sports car rentals, chauffeur drive services, long-term leases, as well as GPS rentals, and MiFi.

In December 2006, Court Square Capital Partners acquired Auto Europe from TowerBrook Capital Partners.

Next Steps

Court Square Capital Partners can be a great firm for anyone building an investing career and interested in the business services, healthcare, industrials, and tech & telecom space.

If you’re looking to land a role at the firm, I recommend you first take a look at my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

It’s a self-paced online course that will help you have a good grasp of growth investing concepts which you’ll encounter during your interviews. Get the course and secure your dream finance role!