Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with today’s Wire. Employee ownership. “Today is the official public launch of Ownership Works, a new nonprofit with a mission to increase prosperity by sharing ownership with all workers!” writes Anna-Lisa Miller, executive director of Ownership Works, in a post on LinkedIn. The nonprofit organization is backed by 60+ partners, including investment firms KKR, Apollo, Ares, Goldman Sachs, Silver Lake, TPG, Warburg Pincus, and pension funds, such as California Public Employees’ Retirement System and Washington State Investment Board. It’s the brainchild of Pete Stavros, co-head of private equity for the Americas at KKR and a long-time advocate of employee ownership. “The son of a road grader for a construction company who sought but never achieved profit-sharing, Mr. Stavros has devoted much of his career to studying the benefits of shared ownership,” reports the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story. “He and his wife, Lindsay Stavros, personally donated $10 million of the more than $50 million the organization has raised.” Road work ahead. Forty percent of the US road network system is in poor or mediocre condition, according to the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. The sector presents a great opportunity for investment, especially as the US prepares to invest in infrastructure, including roads and bridges, through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. One PE-backed company leveraging the opportunity is RoadSafe Traffic Systems. In the year since Investcorp and Trilantic North America bought the Chicago-based provider of traffic control and pavement-marking services, it has been on an acquisitive growth path. The company has closed five deals, including the purchases of Liddell Bros and Liddell Leasing, announced last month. PE Hub’s Obey Martin Manayiti caught up with Amit Gaind, a partner at Investcorp, and Charles Fleischmann, a partner at Trilantic, to learn more about RoadSafe’s growth path. Fleischmann and Gaind worked together for several years at Investcorp, before Fleischmann joined Trilantic seven years ago. For more, read the full story. Banks seek GP-led talent. “As private equity secondaries heads for what is expected to be another record year for deals, mid-market investment banks are scrambling to bring on executives with experience in continuation funds to compete in the frenetic market,” writes Chris. “The fear is losing out on M&A mandates with sponsors because they don’t have the ability to offer the continuation fund option as part of a firm’s exit options for portfolio companies, sources told Buyouts.” For more, read the full story. That’s it for now. Chris usually writes the Wire on Wednesdays, but he’ll be at a conference tomorrow, so I’ll be on duty. Until tomorrow, MK Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ... |
