It had been in business 50 years. OpenGate Capital is a global private equity firm specializing in the acquisition and operation of businesses to create new value through operational improvements, innovation and growth. OpenGate nevertheless was lured back in as a short-term lender to Darden. Description. On 06/01/2015 MALLOY MITRA filed a Labor - Other Labor lawsuit against OPENGATE CAPITAL LLC. Read our website privacy and cookies policy for more information. It maintained operations during the worst of the pandemic and even. And employees became increasingly worried when PennySavers CEO, vice president of finance and the vice president of human resources all quit, Buckley said. Only months after signing the new union contract, employees were notified that the mill would close, said Richard Harrelle, president of the Steelworkers Local 1840, which represented around 100 of the approximately 145 people who worked at the company. Its the biggest business closure in Janesville since the Great Recession. OpenGate, which acquired PennySaver in 2013, specializes in buying units of larger companies and reselling them. OpenGate Capital : Welcomes Shawn Haghighi to the Firm's Global Senior (D.I. Experience: Mr. Moazami is a Technology industry Senior Advisor to OpenGate Capital. It was one of the most shocking things that ever happened to me in my business life, Weinberg testified. The firm first gained recognition for the acquisition of TV Guide Magazine in December 2008,[2] and the publication's turn to profitability in the first quarter of 2010.[3]. Its website says its businesses generate annual revenue of about $3 billion, making it a small player. Fahn, speaking for OpenGate, said that the union wasnt privy to the sale because the sale wasnt final. "OpenGate+Capital" | US Decisions | Law | CaseMine But those changes did not prepare workers for its sudden closure when, in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, employees were asked to pack up and leave. A decision by Wisconsins Department of Workforce Development said Golden Guernsey employees never got compensation for accrued vacation and wages, or for the 60 days that correspond with the required notice period. Class Action Lawsuit List | Open & Current Cases | ClassAction.org It would curb the industrys worst abuses and prioritize people, not private equity profits. The default, the hiring of the restructuring firm and the lenders presence on site paint a picture of a company in financial distress, the kind that former employees allege should have prompted OpenGate to provide a federally required 60 days notice before closing the plant. Ive been doing this over three decades. OTHER FILED BY OPENGATE CAPITAL LLC ON 07/15/2015 [+] Read More [-] Read Less; 07/16/2015. Thomas Bardet - Senior Vice President Operations - OpenGate Capital Esko Successfully Closes Sale of Kongsberg Business To OpenGate Capital We are proud to have a history of successfully turning around these types of businesses, Fahn added. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. [10], In 2008, Nikou negotiated the deal for OpenGate Capital to acquire TV Guide for $1 and $50 million in assumed liabilities from owner Rovi Corporation (previously Macrovision). Its not like they didnt know they had to give 60 days notice, and its not like they didnt know there were some significant financial issues, said Richard McCune, a Redlands lawyer who filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status on behalf of former employees. In October 2019, OpenGate Capital closed on the firm's second institutional fund, OpenGate Capital Partners II, oversubscribed on its original $450 million target, with approximately $585 million in commitments. At their side are elected officials who know that the whole country needs tough measures to reform private equity. A court-appointed trustee also sued OpenGate for siphoning money from Pennysaver through a variety of shady tactics. This is ClassAction.org's current list of open lawsuits and investigations. [8] In 2004, he left Platinum Equity and moved back to Los Angeles to start his own global investment firm. No tags have been applied so far. OpenGate Capital Accused of Selling Facility Used by Mexican Drug Thermo Fisher sued over sale of Mexico plant used by drug cartel PennySaver workers are suing OpenGate in state and federal court, alleging that the company failed to provide adequate notice about the shutdown. OpenGate is not facing any lawsuits for lack of notification with regard to the mills closure. LOS ANGELES - June 1, 2022 - OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, announced that it has exited its investment in EverZinc, a global provider of specialty zinc materials, through a sale to U.S. Zinc, a portfolio company of Aterian Investment Partners. [33] In 2014, Nikou announced that he was forming a partnership with businessman Ricardo Salinas to bring Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra to Los Angeles through a partnership with the city's mayor, Eric Garcetti. Even as hundreds of American workers have suffered from OpenGates schemes, Andrew Nikou, the OpenGate founder and CEO, has not faced any meaningful financial or social consequences for repeated business failures at the hands of his firm. Don't have an account? Power Partners Inc., the first investment completed in OpenGate's first fund, was realized in November 2019 through the sale to Pioneer Transformers, a portfolio company of Mill Point Partners. These people have no idea what theyre in for, said Joanna Storm, whose husband, Robert, was abruptly laid off from OpenGate-owned Golden Guernsey Dairy in Waukesha, Wis., after working there 19 years. Thermo Fisher was not immediately available for comment outside of normal U.S. business hours. Our commitment to a sustainable future draws back to our efforts since inception andis continuously evolving. (D.I. When PennySaver closed on May 22, it left 678 employees without a final paycheck or compensation for their accrued vacation days and it meant they had to scramble for health benefits. In 2010, Nikou was named a Top Dealmaker of 2010 by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine. We look to establish collaborative relationships with companies to drive operational improvement and realize opportunities for long-term value creation. Here's What He's Doing to Help Others", "Meet The Private Equity CEO Who's In Talks For His Own Reality Show", "TV Guide, Once Master of the Airwaves, Tries to Survive in a Competitive Category", "OpenGate Capital to buy lock maker from Stanley Black & Decker", "UPDATE 2-OpenGate, Zuckerman drop BusinessWeek bid -sources", https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2AnwxqSzXBI, "OpenGate Closes $585 Million Fund, Acquires CoreMedia", "OpenGate Capital Portfolio Company Duraco Specialty Tapes Acquires Infinity Tapes", "Private equity firm scoops up Getronics' Latin American portfolio from KPN", http://lavca.org/2010/03/18/opengate-capital-acquires-philips-business-communications-in-brazil/, http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2011/06/14/opengate-buys-cascades-recycled-box.html, "Andrew Nikou, OpenGate founder, talks challenges of raising a first-time fund", "Umicore completes sale of zinc units to U.S. private equity firm", "OpenGate seals fifth platform deal, moves through debut fund - PE Hub", "OpenGate Capital Acquires Belgian Zinc Supplier Umicore | Los Angeles Business Journal", "OpenGate Capital's Second Institutional Fund Closes $585M", "State DWD takes steps to help Golden Guernsey workers; Workers may be eligible for 60 days' pay", "Golden Guernsey Dairy abrupt closing leaves workers, state seeking answers", "OpenGate Capital, which owns PennySaver, has closed other companies, too", "OpenGate gets sued for alleged WARN Act violations", "Photo Release -- Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra to Expand to Los Angeles", "Public-Private Partnership Launches Orchestra Program for Underprivileged Los Angeles Youth", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Nikou&oldid=1147933710, William Howard Taft Charter High School alumni, Articles with dead external links from October 2016, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles using Template Infobox person Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 April 2023, at 03:40. Several pre-fund, legacy investments that were made with the personal capital of Andrew Nikou and the Partners at OpenGate Capital were sold: Benvic was sold to InvestIndustrial in December 2017, NorPaper Avot-Vallee was sold in 2018 to a private investor, and in January 2019, NAKAN (the largest division within Ivy Group) was sold to Westlake Chemical Corporation. In too many cases with private equity, big firms acquire businesses and squeeze them for cash, routinely causing bankruptcies. The first named plaintiff, OpenGate Capital Group LLC, and four of its subsidiaries named as plaintiffs are creatures of Delaware law as well. Class Action Lawsuit List 2023 Join Eligibility OpenGate Capital Signs Agreement to Acquire Extol They think its a big joke. here to register, Not for publication, email or dissemination, Veritas-backed HMH buys educational services nonprofit NWEA, Professional services company FMP inks $36.5m from Alaris, NMS recaps environmental services firms Texas Pride and Texas Dumpster Companies, MSCP invests in services for homeowners; Patient Square launches platform for medical device makers, Leonard Green to acquire minority stake in HUB; plus Investcorp, Sound Partners, Odyssey invest in HVAC, 700 million people will make their home in African cities over the next decade, said DPIs Marc Stoneham. OpenGate Capital Group LLC et al v. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Court Case No. Through it all, few employees understood the depth of the companys distress. OpenGate Capital has a history of buying companies, only to close operations shortly thereafter, leaving communities across the country in the lurch. With its global presence and deep focus on target sectors and investment types, OpenGate is known to bring innovation and transformational value to complex transactions. Nikou grew up with a passion for trading baseball cards and competing in breakdancing competitions. It is normal course and practice that all parties to a contemplated transaction withhold announcements to any outside parties until there is certainty there will be closure, Fahn said. Senator Baldwin Calls on L.A. Private Equity Firm to Restore Health

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