Unlike rockstar Bono's entry into private equity, which garnered national and even international attention, National Hockey League star Mike Richter's entry into PE only received interest from peHUB. However, much like Bono's Elevation Partners, which primarily invests in media companies, Richter's Environmental Capital Partners also is a fund with a specific angle. As its name implies, ECP, which expects to raise $200 million, will invest $10 million to $25 million in green consumer products, eco-friendly building materials, alternative energy and industrial environmental services, according to peHUB.
Richter told peHUB:
"Someone will make an absolute fortune with more speculative, or early-stage, opportunities, but we didn’t want to be VC-oriented,” Richter says. “We wanted to go further down the chain for more day-to-day things that overlay our lives … like say a furniture-making process that uses less energy than normal.”
Richter, who in 1994 led the New York Rangers to its first Stanley Cup victory in 54 years, is not the only former athlete to enter finance following retirement. Other notable names include tennis star Andre Agassi, NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson and NBA star David Robinson. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story from peHUB
See related story about Robinson from Dealscape
See related story about Agassi from Dealscape
See related story about Johnson from Dealscape
See related story about Bono from TheDeal.com
