Dallas-based Lone Star Funds, a giant private-equity firm that focuses on acquiring distressed assets including mortgages, doesn’t usually talk about itself much. Chances are that’s a reflection of its owner, John Grayken, who has a fortune worth $6.3 billion and a “secretive” reputation, according to Forbes magazine.
Whatever the reason, Lone Star characteristically said very little the other day when it announced a shakeup in its top ranks. According to a statement from the company, Nick Beevers will be replacing Sam Loughlin as president of Lone Star’s North America region. Loughlin is “stepping down from the firm,” Lone Star said, while Beevers will be stepping up from his most recent role as executive VP and chief of staff for Andre Collin, the company’s global president. Beevers, the statement said, “has become involved in nearly every aspect of the firm’s strategy, investments, and operations.”
Asked the reason for the change—and how Beevers will help enhance the value of the firm’s investments—a Lone Star spokeswoman replied, “We have no further comment beyond the statement.”
Founded by Grayken in 1995, Lone Star oversees assets worth about $70 billion in 470 investments across 32 countries. One of its biggest assets is Irving-based Caliber Home Loans, which originates home loans for borrowers whose credit is less than stellar but not quite “subprime.” (The New York Department of Financial Services investigated Caliber last year over its handling of distressed mortgages.) The firm, which also owns a Pennsylvania-based payday lender, is renowned for delivering strong, double-digit returns to its investors, including many pension funds.
According to articles in Forbes and The New York Times, Grayken was born in Massachusetts but lives in Ireland—most likely for tax reasons—after giving up his U.S. citizenship. Earlier in his career, he worked with Texans Robert Bass and David Bonderman. Grayken’s company is known for getting in and out of deals quickly and with unsentimental resolve, Forbes says, drawing protests by allegedly aggrieved parties “from New York to Berlin to Seoul.”
