Palm: Elevation Generates 5% Return On Two-Year Investment

Elevation Partners generated about a 5% return for its $460 million investment in Palm (PALM), the Wall Street Journal‘s Deal Journal blog reports.

Here’s how it unfolded:

• June 2007: Plunks down $325 million for 38.2 million preferred shares with $8.50 strike price.
• December 2008: Invests another $51 million for 15.7 million preferred shares with $3.25 strike. Gets 3.6 million warrants at same strike.
• Early 2009: Elevation puts in another $49 million at $6 for 8.2 million shares.
• The fourth round, in September 2009, was $35 million for 2.2 million shares at $16.25 apiece.

The post says that in the sale to HP, Elevation will receive $485 million, according to “people familiar with the matter.” Ergo, a modest profit from a situation that could have been a lot worse.