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HFS Private Equity Partners
HFS Private Equity Partners was established in 2015 by Henry F. Silverman following his exit from Cendant and subsequent ventures. Silverman's wealth origin...
HFS Private Equity Partners
HFS Private Equity Partners was established in 2015 by Henry F. Silverman following his exit from Cendant and subsequent ventures. Silverman's wealth origin traces to his assembly and sale of Cendant Corporation, a sprawling franchisor of brands including Ramada, Days Inn, and Century 21, which he sold and which later separated into four public companies. The office invests solely Silverman's personal capital. The firm targets mid-market private equity with a preference for control and significant minority positions in business services, consumer, and financial-services companies. HFS has historically avoided venture-stage risk, concentrating on cash-flow-positive businesses with durable franchise value. Confirmed past investments include the acquisition of a majority stake in a specialty insurance brokerage platform, and a growth-equity commitment to a healthcare-services roll-up in the southeastern United States (per public record). The office also evaluates structured credit and preferred-equity opportunities alongside external GPs, typically avoiding blind-pool fund commitments. Based in New York, the office runs with a small internal team supplemented by a network of operating partners from Silverman's Cendant and Apollo Global Management days. In October 2023, the firm closed a structured equity investment into a dental practice management group, extending its healthcare exposure (per public record). Silverman, through the HFS Family Foundation, separately directs philanthropic capital toward medical research and education initiatives. The permanent-capital structure is the office's genuine differentiator. Without redemption risk or fundraising cycles, HFS can pursue a concentrated, patient portfolio that includes multi-decade hold periods — an architecture more common to European family holding companies than to U.S.-based single-family offices.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
2015
AUM
Under $500M (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Henry F. Silverman
Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at HFS Private Equity Partners?
Investment authority rests with Henry Silverman, the founder and sole principal. Silverman built his operating career at the helm of Cendant Corporation and held senior roles at Apollo Global Management. The firm does not operate an investment committee with external members — decisions are centralized with the founder, supported by an internal deal team and a circle of long-tenured operating advisors.
Does HFS Private Equity Partners manage capital for anyone besides Henry Silverman?
No. HFS Private Equity Partners is a single-family office that invests exclusively the personal capital of Henry Silverman. It does not accept outside limited partners, nor does it operate as a multi-family office or registered investment advisor.
What deal structures does the firm typically use?
The office favors control buyouts and structured minority positions in mid-market companies. It generally avoids auction processes in favor of directly sourced, bilateral negotiations. The firm will also participate in preferred-equity and structured-credit transactions alongside trusted external general partners.
What investment stages and sectors does HFS focus on?
HFS concentrates on mature, cash-flow-positive businesses — it does not invest at seed or early-stage venture. Sector activity has clustered in business services, consumer, healthcare services, and specialty financial services. The firm has shown a particular appetite for roll-up platforms in fragmented service industries.
How does the firm source its deals?
HFS relies heavily on personal relationships built over Silverman's decades as an operator and board member. Deal flow originates through a network of former Cendant and Apollo colleagues, investment-bank contacts, and direct outreach to founder-owned businesses. The office does not run a proprietary deal-origination engine or employ a dedicated business-development team.
What is the relationship between HFS Private Equity Partners and the HFS Family Foundation?
Both are controlled by Henry Silverman, but they operate as separate entities with distinct mandates. The investment office manages for-profit capital; the foundation directs grants toward medical research, education, and community initiatives. There is no commingling of philanthropic and for-profit assets.
Does HFS invest in real estate or other real assets?
While Silverman's earlier career centered heavily on real-estate and hospitality through Cendant, HFS Private Equity Partners focuses primarily on operating-company private equity. The office may evaluate real-estate-intensive operating businesses but has not disclosed a dedicated real-asset allocation or direct property investment program.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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