What does Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble, Sara Blakely of Spanx, and Reese Witherspoon of Hello Sunshine have in common? HINT: it starts with a 'B'.
Ann Chung
You're right, it's Blackstone! Ann Chung, the Managing Director of Blackstone Growth, leads an all-female team that took a majority stake in these three companies in 2021. She's from Virginia, started out as a bank analyst, got an MBA in Wharton, and is now married with 2 small kids. Chung is passionate about consumer-related companies and wants to “build great brands that stand for something”.
So, what's the valuation?
- Bumble was acquired in 2019 for $3B and is currently valued at $5B.
- Spanx was valued at $1.2B after acquisition from generating $400M revenue in the previous year.
- Blackstone spent $500M on a deal with Hello Sunshine, valuing the company at $900M.
When women support each other, amazing things can happen.
Sources
- Passion with Purpose: Ann Chung (McIntire ’03), Managing Director at Blackstone Growth
- An interview with Blackstone Growth’s Ann Chung
- Bumble Revenue and Usage Statistics (2021)
- Blackstone Buys Majority Stake in SPANX, Inc.
- Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Acquired By Blackstone-Backed Venture Run By Kevin Mayer & Tom Staggs
By Janet Lee
Janet Lee is an MBA candidate at the UCLA Anderson School of Management on a full-tuition fellowship. She is currently working for TenOneTen Ventures, Visible Hands VC and Tech Coast Angels. Before business school, she started two businesses, a tech-forward real estate brokerage and international trade & logistics company. Her MBA focus is venture capital, for which she was recently awarded the Deutschman Venture Fellowship.
