Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) invests mainly in information technology companies focused on the semiconductor, software, and consumer Internet sectors. It typically invests between $10 million to $15 million in start-up or early-stage firms and assists its portfolio companies with executive recruiting, forming strategic alliances, and financial and legal matters. An affiliate of Wells Fargo, NVP closed its 11th fund worth some $1.2 million in late 2009. It is the firm's largest fund to date. NVP has more than $3.7 billion of capital under management and has invested in more than 450 companies.

Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. was founded in 1989 and is based in Los Angeles, California. Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in investments in restructurings, public to private transactions, recapitalizations of privately held companies, growth capital, acquisitions, turnarounds, and acquisitions of divisions and assets from large corporations. The firm seeks to invest in established companies. It invests in a range of industries including retail, consumer products, distribution, media, business services, and healthcare. The firm focuses its investments in North America. It prefers to invest between $500 million and $2 billion per transaction, in enterprise value, but can complete transactions in excess of $5 billion in enterprise value, as well. It seeks to invest in companies which have an ability to grow by at least 50 percent over a five year period.

Pender Financial can drop some serious money on technology. The Canadian merchant bank invests in emerging growth companies, specifically British Columbia firms in high tech fields. Pender Financial Group has sunk about $6 million in what it considers undervalued companies that need some management guidance. One of its biggest money makers is ActiveState Software, which creates open-source software for the Perl, Python, and Tcl programming and scripting languages. Other investments include bio tech venture capitalist Bio FutureFund, high-end marine lighting firm Carmanah, and Web host Radiant Communications.

Berwind Corporation was founded in 1886 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Berwind Corporation is the private equity arm of The Berwind-White Coal Mining Company specializing in acquisitions, buy-and-build transactions and providing growth capital to middle market and mature companies. The firm invests across a diversified range of industries including health and wellness, nutritional products, medical products, filtration, life sciences and biotechnology, pharmaceutical and drug delivery products, specialty chemicals, vehicle safety products, animal health and wellness, promotional products, educational products, and specialty coating products. It seeks to invest in companies based in United States, Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Asia. The firm typically invests in new platform companies with an enterprise value between $50 million and $600 million, with a preferred size between $100 million and $300 million. It seeks to acquire 100 percent ownership of its portfolio companies.

Cruttenden Partners is trying to root the evil out of money. The investment firm says it invests in companies that "help create a better world." It targets companies with strong management teams and offers services, such as financing, structuring, exiting, equity optimization. With a focus on early and late-stage investments, Cruttenden Partners' portfolio includes holdings in the financial, biomedical, and technology industries, such as SRS Sound Design (audio electronics), eGoose (financial advisory products for online traders), and PRISMedical Corporation (fluid therapies).

ZelnickMedia is a partnership of experienced media executives and investors. The firm manages and owns interests in an array of media enterprises, including video games and interactive entertainment, television advertising, wireless network enabling software, business information, tradeshows and media-related business services in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. Current portfolio companies include Take-Two Interactive Software, Airvana, Cannella Response Television, ITN Networks, Arkadium and Naylor Inc. The partnership is currently investing from ZM Capital, its media-focused private equity fund.

Founded by Paul Singer in 1977, Elliott Associates is one of the oldest hedge funds under continuous management. Elliott means action: Hedge fund firm Elliott Management takes an activist approach to investing, frequently amassing significant but minority stakes in distressed or underperforming companies and attempting to foment change. Elliott Management Corporation company manages hedge funds Elliott Associates and Elliott International, which together manage more than $16 billion of capital for large institutional investors and wealthy individuals. Elliott Associates invests in corporate, real estate, and sovereign debt (most famously with its 1995 $20 million investment in Peru), with investments in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. operates as a global asset management company, with a primary focus on property, power and infrastructure assets. Business areas The company operates and manages assets in the following areas: its property operations include core office properties in North America, the U.K. and Brazil, residential home building in North America and Brazil, as well as associated development activities and property services. The company’s power generation business is concentrated on hydroelectric power generation in North America and Brazil, with co-generation and wind energy facilities. The company’s timberland operations own and manage two million acres of private timberlands in North America and Brazil. The company’s transmission infrastructure business includes electricity transmission systems in Canada and Chile. The company’s specialty funds business develops, invests and manages funds and investments on behalf of institutional and related investors that co-invest in the same types of assets which the company owns, including bridge lending, restructuring, real estate finance and fixed income and real estate securities. The company also owns direct interests in various investments, collectively referred to as Private Equity Investments. PROPERTY OPERATIONS The company conducts a range of property operations in North America as well as in Europe and South America. Core Office Properties The company owns and manages a core office portfolio and focuses on major financial, energy and government centre cities in North America and Europe. The company owns interests in 133 commercial properties totalling approximately 85 million square feet of rentable area, as well as 18 development sites with 22.6 million square feet of potential developable area.

Founded in 1994, CommerceNet has been a trusted intermediary, conducting research and piloting programs that have advanced the commercial use of the Internet.CommerceNet sees dollar signs. The tech incubator provides seed money and takes stakes in companies that often are just a glimmer in their founders' eyes. It helps its target companies fund their ideas, collaborate with other Internet companies, and in general advance the commercial aspects of the Internet. The organization operates the Open Network for Commerce Exchange (ONCE), a business-to-business trading community. Funded companies include Webify Solutions (health care provider software) and SupplyFrame (supply chain software).

Muscatine Foods (formerly Varied Investments, Inc.) heard what you were sayin'. Muscatine Foods' name now better reflects what it does -- the Muscatine, Iowa-based company invests in various midwestern ag businesses. Among the units owned by the holding company are the Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), Kent Feeds (which also owns animal food maker Evergreen Mills), and Blue Seal Feeds. Muscatine's Precision Foods has acquired Connecticut-based hot beverage manufacturer Alternative Channels. Muscatine Foods is owned by the families of GPRC founders Gage Kent and S.G. Stein.

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