Onex Partners
Onex Partners is the flagship private equity platform of Canadian investment firm Onex Corporation, acquiring and building mid-to-large-cap businesses in North America and Europe.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Onex Partners is the flagship private equity investing platform of Onex Corporation, a Toronto-based investment firm founded by Gerry Schwartz. Onex Corporation was established in 1984 and has grown into one of Canada's best-known alternative asset managers, with activities spanning private equity, credit, and real estate. Within that structure, Onex Partners is the name given to the firm's large-cap private equity funds and the investment team that runs them. The Onex Partners strategy focuses on acquiring controlling or significant stakes in mid-to-large-cap companies, primarily in North America and Europe, and then working with management teams to improve operations and grow the businesses over a multi-year holding period. The platform has invested across a wide range of sectors, including industrials, business services, healthcare, consumer products, and aerospace, reflecting Onex's generalist approach rather than a single-sector focus. Onex Partners operates as a series of successor funds — Onex Partners I through later vintages — that pool capital from Onex Corporation itself alongside institutional limited partners such as pension funds, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds. This co-investment model, in which Onex commits substantial capital of its own to each fund, is a defining feature of the platform and is presented as aligning the firm's interests with those of its investors. As part of Onex Corporation, Onex Partners is not a separately listed entity; its results are reported within the parent company's financial statements. The platform's brand identity is closely tied to the Onex name and to the firm's long track record in private equity, which dates back to the 1980s. Onex has historically been associated with large, complex transactions and with long-term partnerships with management teams, and Onex Partners carries that positioning into the mid-market and large-cap segments it targets. In the market, Onex Partners is positioned as a disciplined, operationally engaged private equity investor with a North American base and transatlantic reach. Its brand is less consumer-facing than the companies it owns; it is known primarily within the institutional investment community, among deal advisors, and in the industries where it invests.
History
Onex Partners is the private equity platform of Onex Corporation, a Toronto-based investment firm founded by Gerry Schwartz in 1984. Onex began as a small investment company and grew through a series of acquisitions and fundraisings into one of Canada's leading alternative asset managers. The firm's early history was marked by a strategy of acquiring controlling interests in businesses and holding them for the long term, often in partnership with management. As Onex's private equity activities expanded, the firm organized its investing into named fund vehicles. The Onex Partners series became the label for its large-cap private equity funds, distinguishing them from other parts of the Onex platform such as Onex Credit and real estate activities. Each Onex Partners fund raised capital from Onex Corporation itself and from external institutional investors, with Onex committing a significant share of the total. Over the years, Onex Partners has invested across a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, business services, healthcare, consumer products, and aerospace. The platform has been associated with large and complex transactions, and with a generalist approach that evaluates opportunities across sectors rather than concentrating on a single vertical. The Onex Partners brand is closely tied to the reputation of Onex Corporation and to Gerry Schwartz's long tenure as the firm's leader. Onex has been publicly traded in Canada, and its shares have been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, giving investors exposure to the performance of the Onex Partners funds alongside the firm's other activities. The platform's history is therefore intertwined with the broader story of Onex as a Canadian financial institution and with the evolution of the North American private equity industry from the 1980s onward.
- 1984
Onex Corporation founded by Gerry Schwartz in Toronto.
Onex Partners fund series established as the firm's large-cap private equity platform.
Products and positioning
Disciplined, operationally engaged private equity investor with a North American base and transatlantic reach, backed by Onex Corporation's own capital commitment.
Onex Partners fund series
Successive large-cap private equity funds pooling Onex capital and institutional limited partner commitments.
Recent events
Onex Partners and co-investors complete acquisition of AirSprint[2]
Reported:
Onex Partners said it and a group of other co-investors completed the previously announced acquisition of fractional jet ownership company AirSprint Inc. The deal was initially announced in June and included Onex Partners, TriWest Capital Partners and other co-investors.
Onex Partners completes acquisition of AirSprint[3]
Reported:
Onex Partners announced that the Onex Partners Opportunities Fund and certain co-investors completed their acquisition of AirSprint Inc. AirSprint’s founder, chairman, president and CEO, and certain shareholders remain invested in the company.
Sources3 sources
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