# Madison Dearborn Partners

Madison Dearborn Partners is an Asset Manager based in Chicago, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Chicago, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Chicago, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 1992
- **Assets under management:** $20B–$30B (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** mdcp.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/madison-dearborn-partners
- **Wikidata:** Q16191818

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 157349
- **SEC file number:** 801-74015
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/157349

## About

Madison Dearborn Partners is an SEC-registered investment adviser in Chicago, IL, registered since 2012. The firm manages approximately $20.7 billion in assets. It has 73 employees and 53 investment advisers.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- Financial Services
- Healthcare Services
- Industrial Tech
- Media & Entertainment
- Energy Transition & Renewables
- Private Credit

## People

- John A. Canning Jr. — Chairman
- Paul J. Finnegan — Co-CEO
- Samuel M. Mencoff — Co-CEO

## Questions

### Who runs day-to-day investment decisions at Madison Dearborn Partners?

Co-CEOs Paul J. Finnegan and Samuel M. Mencoff manage daily operations and sit on the firm's investment committee. Chairman John A. Canning Jr., who co-founded the firm in 1992, remains actively involved in strategic decisions and key LP relationships. The firm's partnership structure concentrates authority among a small group of veteran managing directors, most of whom have been with MDP for over a decade.

### How does Madison Dearborn Partners source proprietary deal flow outside traditional auctions?

MDP relies heavily on sector-dedicated teams that build multiyear relationships with founders, family-owned businesses, and corporate carve-out targets before formal sale processes begin. The firm's structured capital arm extends credit to middle-market companies, often serving as an early relationship-building tool that leads to control-equity opportunities. MDP's Chicago concentration and deep industrial expertise give it preferential access to Midwest-based manufacturing, distribution, and business-services companies that rarely appear in broad auction processes.

### Does Madison Dearborn invest outside North America?

MDP's mandate is overwhelmingly North America-focused, with the vast majority of portfolio companies headquartered in the United States. The firm occasionally supports portfolio companies pursuing add-on acquisitions in Europe or Asia, but MDP does not maintain dedicated international investment teams or offices. LP materials and public filings consistently position it as a US-centric, generalist buyout manager.

### What is MDP's structured capital strategy, and how does it differ from its buyout funds?

MDP's structured capital platform provides senior debt, subordinated debt, and preferred equity to companies that fall below the equity fund's typical control-investment size threshold. Unlike the flagship buyout strategy, which targets majority ownership positions, structured capital deals are often minority or non-control investments with creditor protections. The strategy serves both as a standalone return driver and as a relationship-building tool that occasionally converts into full buyout opportunities.

### Which sectors does MDP explicitly avoid?

Madison Dearborn Partners has no stated hard exclusions, but its portfolio history shows minimal exposure to pure-play biotechnology, early-stage drug development, upstream oil and gas exploration, and speculative real estate development. The firm has historically avoided hostile takeovers and prefers transactions structured around founder or family transitions, corporate divestitures, and management buyouts.

## Related profiles

- [Madison Capital Funding](https://altss.com/profile/madison-capital-funding)
- [Madison India Capital](https://altss.com/profile/madison-india-capital)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/madison-dearborn-partners

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology