MidOcean was originally formed by the managers of DB Capital Partners to acquire Deutsche Bank's late stage private equity investments in the United States and Europe in one of the largest private equity secondary transactions completed to date.

A group of investors provided capital to the managers of DB Capital Partners, led by MidOcean CEO Ted Virtue, to acquire the portfolio of private equity investments they had managed at Deutsche Bank.

[6] In 2003, MidOcean sold the class ring and school yearbook supplier Jostens for nearly $500 million to CSFB.

[14] In November that same year, Hunter Point Capital bought a minority stake in MidOcean.

[15][16] In June 2022, MidOcean Partners acquired Pragmatic Institute, a product management training company.