The Crossroads Group was a Dallas-based private equity

Private equity

Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

 fund of funds

Fund of funds

A "fund of funds" is an investment strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly in shares, bonds or other securities. This type of investing is often referred to as multi-manager investment...

 firm focusing on venture capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

 investments. The firm was founded in 1981 and acquired by Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...

 in October 2003. Since Lehman Brothers 2008 bankruptcy, Crossroads has been a part of Neuberger Berman

Neuberger Berman

Neuberger Berman Group LLC, through its subsidiaries is an investment management firm that provides financial services for high net worth individuals and institutional investors. With approximately $200 billion in asset under management, it is among the largest private employee-controlled asset...

.

History

Founded in 1981 as Bigler/Crossroads, the firm focused on investing as a limited partner in venture capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

 funds and to a lesser extent in other private equity

Private equity

Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

 strategies including middle market U.S. leveraged buyout

Leveraged buyout

A leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...

 investments and mezzanine capital

Mezzanine capital

Mezzanine capital, in finance, refers to a subordinated debt or preferred equity instrument that represents a claim on a company's assets which is senior only to that of the common shares...

. Crossroads was also an early investor in secondary interests in existing private equity partnerships

Private equity secondary market

In finance, the private equity secondary market refers to the buying and selling of pre-existing investor commitments to private equity and other alternative investment funds....

.

At the time of its acquisition in 2003, Crossroads managed approximately $2 billion of capital on behalf of its investors. Over its 22 year history, the firm raised 16 Crossroads Funds, and invested with more than 200 private equity firms.

In 1999, Crossroads acquired a $340 million portfolio of direct investments in large- to mid-cap companies from Electronic Data Systems

Electronic Data Systems

HP Enterprise Services is the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard's HP Enterprise Business strategic business unit. It was formed by the combination of HP's legacy services consulting and outsourcing business and the integration of acquired Electronic Data Systems,...

(EDS).

External links

• Crossroads Group (company website from Internet Archive)
• "Lehman Brothers Fund of Funds: History."
• Neuberger Berman Private Equity Partners