HM Capital Partners
Professional services
UnclaimedHM Capital Partners was a United States private-equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and sector-focused acquisitions.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
HM Capital Partners was a United States private-equity firm that invested primarily through leveraged buyouts, platform acquisitions, and buy-and-build strategies. The firm was founded in 1989 as Hicks Muse & Co. by Tom Hicks and John Muse after Hicks had earlier built an investment partnership with Robert Haas. In 1991, Charles Tate and Jack Furst joined the partnership, and the firm adopted the name Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, commonly abbreviated as Hicks Muse or HMTF, in 1994. The firm's early development was closely associated with the expanding leveraged-buyout market. Its predecessor, Hicks & Haas, had achieved a major return through the consolidation of soft-drink businesses including Dr Pepper and 7 Up, followed by the public offering of Dr Pepper/7 Up. Under Hicks Muse, the firm pursued a broad sector strategy rather than concentrating on a single industry. Its investments covered food and household products, media, telecommunications, energy, insurance, cable television, business services, manufacturing, and consumer brands. A characteristic feature of the firm's approach was the creation of larger operating groups from multiple acquisitions. Berg Electronics, assembled around a DuPont connector-systems unit acquired in 1993, was expanded through additional purchases before being sold in 1998. In media, Hicks Muse built and combined radio businesses, including Chancellor Media and Evergreen Media, with the resulting company later renamed AMFM. It also participated with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in the consolidation of cinema assets that formed Regal Cinemas. Other notable transactions included investments in International Home Foods, Yell Group, Hillsdown Holdings, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët, Premier Foods-related assets, Triton Energy, Teligent, and various Latin American companies. The firm expanded internationally during the 1990s, particularly in Latin America and Europe. It acquired interests in Mexican businesses, created a European fund, and participated with Apax Partners in the purchase of British Telecom's directory business, later known as Yell Group. Its European operation was separated from Hicks Muse in 2005 and became Lion Capital LLP. Hicks Muse suffered substantial damage to its reputation and market position after the collapse of the late-1990s technology and telecommunications investment boom. The firm incurred more than $1 billion in losses from minority investments in telecommunications and Internet companies, while several traditional buyouts also encountered bankruptcy or severe financial difficulties. Examples cited in accounts of the firm include Regal Cinemas, Teligent, Viasystems Group, International Wire, and G. Heileman Brewing Company, although the outcomes and timing varied by investment. Tom Hicks left the firm at the end of 2004 and was succeeded by John Muse as its leading executive. Charles Tate had departed in 2002. In March 2006, the partnership changed its name from Hicks Muse Tate & Furst to HM Capital Partners, reflecting the departure of Hicks and the firm's revised leadership structure. HM Capital subsequently raised a new private-equity fund and continued making investments, including the 2005 acquisition of Sturm Foods, a Wisconsin manufacturer of bulk and private-label food products. Beginning in 2013, HM Capital was dissolved through the separation of its principal operating groups: the energy team became Tailwater Capital and the food-investment team became Kainos Capital. The HM Capital Partners entity is therefore no longer an active standalone private-equity firm.
History
HM Capital Partners developed from the investment activities of Tom Hicks, who had gained experience in leveraged finance through First National Bank's venture-capital group. Hicks and Robert Haas formed Hicks & Haas in 1984. The partnership acquired Hicks Communications and later assembled a group of soft-drink businesses, including Dr Pepper and 7 Up. The combined Dr Pepper/7 Up business was taken public after approximately eighteen months, producing a substantial return on the original investment. Hicks and Haas separated in 1989 because Hicks preferred to raise a large investment fund while Haas favored individual transactions. In 1989 Hicks raised $250 million and joined with former Prudential Securities banker John Muse to form Hicks Muse & Co. The partnership made early investments such as Life Partners Group and expanded its team in 1991 when Morgan Stanley's Charles Tate and First Boston's Jack Furst became partners. The firm changed its name to Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst in 1994. It subsequently became one of the more visible leveraged-buyout firms of the 1990s, using acquisition platforms and add-on purchases to build businesses in electronics, food, media, insurance, energy, telecommunications, and other sectors. Among its early industrial transactions was the purchase of DuPont's connector-systems unit in 1993. Renamed Berg Electronics, the platform acquired six additional companies and increased its earnings before being sold in 1998. The firm also bought G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1994, but that investment was unsuccessful and was sold two years later at a reported loss. In media, Hicks Muse supported the formation and expansion of Chancellor Media, which went public in 1996, and later combined it with Evergreen Media. The company was renamed AMFM in 1999. Hicks Muse expanded into Latin America in 1996 through investments in Mexican businesses, including the insurer Seguros Commercial America. Its international activity broadened further through a European fund and through the acquisition, with Apax Partners, of British Telecom's directory business. The directory operation became Yell Group, acquired McLeodUSA, and later became publicly traded. In the consumer sector, the firm invested in International Home Foods, Hillsdown Holdings, food brands associated with Premier Foods, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët, and other branded and private-label businesses. In 2005, HM Capital acquired Sturm Foods, a Wisconsin producer of bulk and private-label food products. The firm also made major commitments to media and communications. Its cinema operations were combined with those of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to create Regal Cinemas, which later entered bankruptcy protection. Hicks Muse invested in Triton Energy and committed substantial capital to Teligent, a fixed-wireless telecommunications provider. Teligent filed for bankruptcy in 2001. These difficulties were compounded by losses from minority positions in technology and telecommunications companies acquired near the peak of the late-1990s market. The firm was frequently characterized as one of the prominent private-equity casualties of the post-bubble period. Leadership and organizational changes followed. Charles Tate left in 2002, and Tom Hicks resigned from Hicks Muse at the end of 2004, subsequently establishing Hicks Holdings. John Muse became the firm's leading executive. In January 2005, the European arm separated and became Lion Capital LLP. In March 2006, the remaining partnership adopted the HM Capital Partners name. The firm later raised new institutional capital, including a private-equity fund reported at approximately $1 billion. From 2013, HM Capital began dissolving as its energy group spun out as Tailwater Capital and its food group became Kainos Capital. The dissolution marked the end of HM Capital Partners as an independent operating brand.
- 2013
HM Capital begins dissolving
[1]The firm's energy and food investment groups separate into Tailwater Capital and Kainos Capital, respectively.
- 2006
Hicks Muse Tate & Furst becomes HM Capital Partners
[1]The firm adopts the HM Capital Partners name following Tom Hicks's departure and a change in the senior partner group.
- 2005
The European arm becomes Lion Capital
[1]Hicks Muse's European operation separates and is reorganized as Lion Capital LLP.
- 2005
Sturm Foods is acquired
[1]HM Capital acquires Sturm Foods, a Wisconsin manufacturer specializing in bulk and private-label food products.
- 2002
Charles Tate leaves the firm
[1]Charles Tate resigns from Hicks Muse.
- 2001
Regal Cinemas and Teligent encounter financial distress
[1]Regal Cinemas files for bankruptcy protection, while Teligent also files for bankruptcy amid the broader communications-sector downturn.
- 1998
Berg Electronics is sold
[1]After building the connector-systems platform through multiple acquisitions, Hicks Muse sells Berg Electronics.
- 1996
Expansion into Latin America
[1]Hicks Muse enters Latin American markets through investments in Mexican companies, including Seguros Commercial America.
- 1994
The firm becomes Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst
[1]The partnership changes its name to reflect the roles of Tate and Furst.
- 1991
Tate and Furst join the partnership
[1]Charles Tate and Jack Furst become partners, expanding the firm's senior investment team.
Products and positioning
A diversified, transaction-oriented private-equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts and the consolidation of fragmented businesses across consumer, media, telecommunications, energy, industrial, and international markets.
Private equity · 1989
Leveraged buyout funds
HM Capital and its predecessor firms raised institutional private-equity capital to acquire controlling interests in companies, commonly using acquisition debt and subsequent operational or financial restructuring. The firm invested across several sectors rather than limiting itself to one product category.
Investment strategy · 1993
Buy-and-build platforms
A recurring investment model involved purchasing a platform business and adding related companies to increase scale, earnings, and market reach. Berg Electronics and several media businesses illustrate this approach, although outcomes differed across the portfolio.
Private-equity services
Sector-focused investment groups
The firm organized investments around sectors including food and consumer products, media, telecommunications, energy, industrial manufacturing, insurance, cable television, and business services. These groups supported acquisitions, portfolio management, and eventual divestitures.
Brand decisions
2013
Separate the energy and food investment groupsStrategyBackground
HM Capital was no longer continuing as a single standalone private-equity platform.
Action taken
The energy group spun out as Tailwater Capital and the food group spun off as Kainos Capital.
Aftermath
The separation marked the dissolution of HM Capital Partners as an independent firm.
2006
Rebrand as HM Capital PartnersStrategyBackground
Tom Hicks had left the partnership, and the firm was operating under a revised group of senior partners.
Action taken
The partnership changed its name from Hicks Muse Tate & Furst to HM Capital Partners.
Aftermath
The renamed firm continued raising institutional capital and making private-equity investments, including the acquisition of Sturm Foods.
Sources1 sources
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