opengate capital lawsuit

In December 2014, while their lawsuit against Thenno Fisher was pending, the OpenGate and RoundRock entitles negotiated a sale-leaseback agreement for the . 14 at 5-6.) Founded in 2005, OpenGate Capital is a global private equity firm that strives to acquire and optimize lower middle market businesses throughout North America and Europe with a strategic focus on operational improvement, innovation and growth. In the weeks leading up to the coupon magazines mass layoffs, managers were on a tear, asking advertisers to pay up front and offering sales representatives bonuses for bringing in the most money, Buckley said. OpenGate Capital. This case was filed in U.S. Courts Of Appeals, U.S. Court Of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Coupon mailing company PennySaver USA was in default on its main operating loan for five months before it abruptly shut down on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend, something few of its roughly 680 employees knew before they were put out of work. Investment Represents Strategy to Create European Aluminium Solutions Group. The first named plaintiff, OpenGate Capital Group LLC, and four of its subsidiaries named as plaintiffs are creatures of Delaware law as well. Instead, he sits on numerous boards and hes even been in talks about a. built around his private equity business. Former employees of at least three former OpenGate portfolio companies have filed lawsuits or complaints alleging OpenGate or the companies it owned violated labor laws requiring businesses to notify employees 60 days before mass layoffs. The lawsuits allege that a company or individual violated securities laws and are brought on behalf of the class. Grace Matthews advised Chemsolv on the transaction. At a chaotic meeting four days after PennySaver closed, employees were handed their final pay. (D.I. OpenGate Capital is a global private equity firm active in the lower middle-market and focused on acquiring corporate carve-outs, divestitures and special situations throughout North America, Western Europe and Latin America. [26], Prior to raising its first institutional fund, OpenGate also acquired the Waukesha, Wisconsin plant and brand rights to Golden Guernsey Dairy as the result of an antitrust divestment of Dean Foods, which was required to sell the plant to purchase GGD's other plants in the state. . And in 2010, OpenGate acquired Brazilian-based Philips Business Communications, since renamed Sopho which was merged into Getronics LATAM, and Finland-based KotkaMills, a laminating paper and wood business. Its website says its businesses generate annual revenue of about $3 billion, making it a small player. The Motion was joined by defendants Andrew Nikou and Jay Yook.4 The After decades of pro-corporate globalization, people numb to its effects might write off Hufcors closure as a tragic but ultimately unavoidable consequence of a deadly pandemic and economic upheaval. LOS ANGELES, October 13, 2022 -- ( BUSINESS WIRE )-- OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, today announced that it has exited its investment in . LOS ANGELES, August 23, 2022 -- ( BUSINESS WIRE )-- OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, announced today it . OpenGate, which acquired PennySaver in 2013, specializes in buying units of larger companies and reselling them. This article was originally published on OtherWords. Baldwin was a co-sponsor of the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, the first major effort to reform the private equity sector, in the last Congress. Description. At OpenGate, we strive for a culture that promotes open communication and empowerment of fellow team members.. And the firm shut down its Fusion Paperboard plant just three years after acquiring it and only a few months after entering into a, 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. But OpenGate never got a dime after it lent the cash as the alleged fraud was uncovered. Defendants OpenGate Capital, LLC and OpenGate Publishing, LLC (collectively, "the Open Gate entities" or "Defendants") filed the Motion to Disnnss that is presently before the Court. Above, workers attend a May 26 meeting. Banks dont do this. Every major bank in the U.S. covers the payrolls.. In the last 16 years, Andrew's leadership has grown OpenGate into a global company with a reputation for innovation and deal-making. OpenGate Capital, a Los Angeles firm that amassed $5 billion in revenue during its first decade in business, has run exactly that playbook in Janesville since acquiring Hufcor in 2017. Its the. In addition, OpenGate was to get 10 percent in Maxim plus a $500,000-a-year annual consulting fee, according to testimony. Thermo Fisher made none of the upgrades that were recommended by its security advisers in January and February 2012, and took no meaningful action to fortify or further secure the Facility in response to the continuing cartel infiltration, the complaint said. To date, OpenGate has laid off 678 California workers from the Pennysaver classified ad magazine, 100 Wisconsin workers at its Golden Guernsey dairy plant, 140 employees of the Connecticut boxboard company Fusion Paperboard, and nearly 200 employees in Texas, Arkansas, and Wisconsin, who worked for Hamilton Scientific, an OpenGate-owned laboratory furniture company. [9], In 2019, OpenGate purchased the lock company Sargent and Greenleaf from Stanley Black & Decker. Capital One spokesman Michael Bulger said: Withdrawing funding is a last resort. Among those companies was Hamilton Scientific, the enterprise allegedly overrun by drug cartel members. The lab workstations unit, headquartered in Wisconsin, had facilities in Mexico, Texas and Arkansas. Andrew Nikou is the founder and CEO of OpenGate Capital, a global private buyout firm. It agreed to provide $3.1 million in . The suit claimed that Thermo Fisher had rushed negotiations and provided misleading answers to due-diligence inquiries. (Reuters) - Opengate Capital Group LLC filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging that laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. sold it a Mexican plant last year without revealing that a drug cartel was operating there. May 17-18, 2023 Hilton Tower Bridge, London, May 23-24, 2023 Convene 117 West 46th Street, New York, Get limited access to our industry news, analysis and data, plus regular email updates. We've received your submission. Established in 2005, OpenGate Capital is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with a European office in Paris, France. INTRODUCTION Before the Court is the Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6) filed by OpenGate Capital Group, LLC, OpenGate Capital Management, LLC and PennySaver Investors, LLC's (collectively, "OpenGate"), which seeks to dismiss the Complaint filed by Don A. Beskrone, Chapter 7 Trustee for the estates of PennySaver USA Publishing, LLC, et al. OpenGate has a history of buying companies only to close operations shortly thereafter, leaving communities across the country in the lurch. In September 2013, OpenGate acquired PennySaver for $22.5 million. In court papers, the company said the trustees allegations are without merit. One of those businesses, like PennySaver, filed for bankruptcy. Nikou and OpenGate executives wouldnt discuss PennySavers closing. Andrew McCarthy, 53, started working for Golden Guernsey when he was 19 years old. Your activity looks suspicious to us. The labor union that represents workers at Janesville's Hufcor factory is now pressuring Hufcor owner OpenGate Capital with a shame campaign that's playing out in Los Angeles, OpenGate's . Andrew Nikou is the founder and CEO of OpenGate Capital, a global private buyout firm. "Nicole Farhi Buyer OpenGate Set to Announce Three More Deals," David Altaner, Bloomberg, 3-15-2010. Chief Operating Officer & Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations & Communications, Operations Expert, Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Senior Advisor, European M&A - Technology, Founder, Executive Chairman, XPRIZE Foundation, Technology Expert, Industrials, Environmental, & Manufacturing 4.0, 2023 OpenGate Capital Management, LLC. Andrew Nikou is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer at OpenGate Capital based in Los Angeles, California. This story has been shared 673,260 times. In too many cases with private equity, big firms acquire businesses and squeeze them for cash, routinely causing bankruptcies. 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. Open Gate Capital aquired my company Pennysaver USA 1 1/2 years ago. Thats the thing that bothers us most, McCarthy said. In October 2012, OpenGate Capital bought the laboratory workstations business of Thermo Fisher Scientific, a maker of laboratory furniture. With a strategic international presence and a focus on corporate carve . [11] Also in 2009, OpenGate purchased children's publishers Fleurus Presse and Junior Hebdo from Groupe Le Monde. In December 2014, OpenGate Capital hired Realization Services, an East Coast company specializing in turnaround management. On Jan. 5, 2013, employees who worked the early morning shift, starting between 3 and 5 a.m., were asked to leave and the doors were locked with no prior notice to employees, McCarthy said. The younger Darden pleaded guilty to his own Maxim-related fraud charges in November and is cooperating with prosecutors in their pursuit of Newkirk. Please prove that you're human. [8] In 2004, he left Platinum Equity and moved back to Los Angeles to start his own global investment firm. A global investment manager with a local touch. Sontchi, C.J. Its a story about predatory private equity run amok. OpenGate Capital is a Los Angeles based private equity firm that specializes in acquiring and optimizing lower-to-middle market businesses across North America and Europe. Inequality.org is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies, Content licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 License, Inequality Quotes by Historic World Leaders, Private Equity Can Kill: Fight Wall Streets Deadly Power in Nursing Homes, Labor Celebrates as Michigan Senate Votes to Overturn Right-to-Work Law. [22] The deal was the fifth platform investment from OpenGate's debut fund. OpenGate strategically invests in targeted sectors across five continents utilizing a diverse and experienced team with the ability to connect with business owners around the globe. [9] In 2006, OpenGate purchased OMMIC, a former division of Philips. 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 . In 2012, Nikou was a recipient of The M&A Advisor's "Top 40 Under 40" award,[4] for the West Region. His parents left their native Tehran before the Iranian Revolution and relocated to Canada, later moving with Nikou to California when he was four years old. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. In fact, prosecutors allege, it was the senior Dardens neer-do-well son who had already spent three years in jail on an unrelated stock swindle looking to buy the lad mag. By continuing to use this site, closing this banner, or clicking I Agree, you agree to the use of cookies. Its the biggest business closure in Janesville since the Great Recession. Contact the writer: 714-796-2286 or lwilliams@ocregister.com. OpenGate Capital, a Los Angeles firm that amassed $5 billion in revenue during its first decade in business, has run exactly that playbook in Janesville since acquiring Hufcor in 2017. . The closure of PennySaver only reaffirmed the Connecticut state senators opinion of OpenGate. So far, the funds administrators have paid the utility bills of several employees. A state claim for wages was filed in the dairys pending Delaware bankruptcy case. Workers are suing OpenGate in state and federal court, alleging it failed to provide adequate notice to workers about the shutdown and issued final paychecks that bounced. Once the OpenGate deal blew up, Darden Jr. and Newkirk turned to Mark Weinberg, at Versant Funding and MDW Funding, who agreed to a short-term loan of $5.5 million. employees in the middle of a work day and failing to give workers their final paychecks. Through it all, few employees understood the depth of the companys distress. Those who cashed the bad checks were left on the hook for penalties levied by their banks. We work with every customer to find a workable solution, but unfortunately we werent able to reach an agreement in this situation.. This spring, 166 workers in Janesville, Wisconsin awoke to a nightmare. Were hiring an Advocacy & Political Manager. OpenGate strategically invests in targeted sectors across five continents utilizing a diverse and experienced team with the ability to connect with business owners around the globe. Revenue: $1 to $5 billion (USD) Competitors: Unknown. Most of my clients are in default. In 2011, the firm acquired NorPaper Avot Valle, a specialty paper manufacturer based in France. 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. Golden Guernsey owes the ex-employees that money, and it also owes $30,000 in penalties because it failed to notify the mayor of Waukesha, the town where Golden Guernsey was located, that mass layoffs were imminent, the state agency ruled. OpenGate is not facing any lawsuits for lack of notification with regard to the mills closure. OpenGate, which Nikou started in 2005, has engaged in more than two dozen transactions. In early 2014, Fusion signed a six-year contract with the union representing its employees. 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. It bought Gabriel Ride Control, a shock absorber maker losing $20 million a year, returned it to profitability and preserved 1,400 jobs before selling it in 2012. OpenGate Capital is part of the Finance industry, and located in California, United States. To date, OpenGate has laid off 678 California workers from the Pennysaver classified ad magazine, 100 Wisconsin workers at its Golden Guernsey dairy plant, 140 employees of the Connecticut boxboard company Fusion Paperboard, and nearly 200 employees in Texas, Arkansas, and Wisconsin, who worked for the laboratory furniture company Hamilton Scientific. Once OpenGate snapped up by OpenGate in 2017, OpenGate's new regime heightened tensions and ended a relatively amicable relationship between management and the workers of IUE-CWA Local 84811 . They just dont flat out care about being a reputable business, from my perspective, Osten said. [6] He was bullied in school for being short. RSI operated PennySaver until its closure in May. $16 hourly wages and generous benefits as recently as January 2021. [20] As of August 2018, OpenGate's first fund had completed nine platform investments, five of which had closed in 2016. OpenGate Capital regularly acquires under-performing businesses that by their very nature are sometimes operationally distressed, said Terry Fahn, a senior executive at the crisis management firm Sitrick and Company that represents OpenGate. This post was guest authored by Elisa McCartin. in Janesville, Wisconsin awoke to a nightmare. OpenGate Capital is planning the launch of its third flagship fund over the next 6-12 months, with a target of up to $700m, according to a source close to the situation., Funds, Buyout, France, UK / Ireland, Benelux, Southern Europe, DACH, Nordics, CEE, OpenGate Capital, Exclusive They just care about lining their pockets with money. But Pawluk said things deteriorated soon after OpenGate Capital acquired Hufcor, a family-owned company founded in Janesville 120 years ago. OpenGate Capital has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 15 reviews left anonymously by employees. The list is updated frequently, so check . Capital One said it tried to work with PennySaver on the closure, but to no avail.

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