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. Click All rights reserved. For ScioTeq, 2020 was again a record . Andrew received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Southern . This is ClassAction.org's current list of open lawsuits and investigations. But Fusion closed the plant only a year and a half after receiving the loan, Osten said. In December 2014, while their lawsuit against Thenno Fisher was pending, the OpenGate and RoundRock entitles negotiated a sale-leaseback agreement for the . [35][36][37], Nikou is married with children and resides in Nevada.[7]. The lab workstations unit, headquartered in Wisconsin, had facilities in Mexico, Texas and Arkansas. Beskrone v. OpenGate Capital Grp., LLC (In re PennySaver U.S. Publ'g 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. Description. Around the same time, it was engaged in negotiations to be acquired by another company. OpenGate nevertheless was lured back in as a short-term lender to Darden. Before the deal even closed, executives at OpenGate met with PennySaver employees and touted their roughly 20 other acquisitions in a PowerPoint presentation obtained by the Register. Ripoff Report | Open gate cap Review - Los Angeles , California 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. Why would we put in all that effort?. The employees say they didn't get money owed to them, including their final paychecks and vacation time. That would be a hard argument to make, he said. 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.. Register now to read this article and more for free. Thermo Fisher was not immediately available for comment outside of normal U.S. business hours. But OpenGate never got a dime after it lent the cash as the alleged fraud was uncovered. Hufcor workers battle private equity owner with shame ad in Los Angeles Among those companies was Hamilton Scientific, the enterprise allegedly overrun by drug cartel members. Barry L. Kasoff, president of Realization Services who served as PennySavers chief restructuring officer, denied the assertion and said the decision to close with little notice was dictated by Capital One. Ive been doing this over three decades. OpenGate Capital Group LLC et al v. . According to Opengate Capital, the company withheld important documents . Senator 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. Fahn points to OpenGates acquisition of TV Guide, auto part manufacturer Gabriel, and Europe-based companies NorPaper, Benvic, Kotkamills, and Fleurus Presse as a some of OpenGates successful turnarounds. Please prove that you're human. 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. [22] The deal was the fifth platform investment from OpenGate's debut fund. Later that year, Nikou led OpenGate Capital's bid for McGraw-Hill Companies BusinessWeek magazine, then withdrew from the bidding. In 2019, OpenGate acquired the German content-management platform CoreMedia. On 09/21/2021 Finsa Portafolios, S A de C V, filed a Property - Personal Property Fraud lawsuit against OpenGate Capital, LLC,. In early 2014, Fusion signed a six-year contract with the union representing its employees. In the last 16 years, Andrew's leadership has grown OpenGate into a global company with a reputation for innovation and deal-making. Employees at other OpenGate-owned companies have voiced similar complaints. OpenGate closed the PennySaver on May 22 with out warning. OpenGate Capital : Welcomes Shawn Haghighi to the Firm's Global Senior In 2005, Nikou founded OpenGate Capital with $30,000 from his own savings. Instead, he sits on numerous boards and hes even been in talks about a. built around his private equity business. On 06/01/2015 MALLOY MITRA filed a Labor - Other Labor lawsuit against OPENGATE CAPITAL LLC. It would curb the industrys worst abuses and prioritize people, not private equity profits. "They basically told us 'We don't want to get to . 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 . At their side are elected officials who know that the whole country needs tough measures to reform private equity. Janesville, Wis. - U.S. A runner, rock climber and board game enthusiast, Lauren is perpetually training for the next race day. Senator Baldwin Calls on L.A. Private Equity Firm to Restore Health It maintained operations during the worst of the pandemic and even. Hufcor employees will not be the last to suffer at the hands of OpenGate, and nothing will change unless the firm is held accountable for its ruthless profiteering. 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. OpenGate Capital Company Profile | Management and Employees List The lawsuits allege that a company or individual violated securities laws and are brought on behalf of the class. OpenGate Capital, the private equity firm that owns their employer, Hufcor, announced it was moving their plant out of Janesville taking those workers jobs and livelihoods with it. Securities class action lawsuits are filed on behalf of a class of investors or a class of holders of a particular security. business closure in Janesville since the Great Recession. OpenGate is a global private equity firm that acquires and . [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. 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. 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. This case was filed in Orange County Superior Courts, Civil Complex Center located in Orange, California. The cases that former employees have highlighted as OpenGate failures include: the shuttering of Golden Guernsey on a Saturday morning in 2013, with no notice to employees; the closure of Connecticut-based Fusion Paperboard shortly after it had received a state loan to stay put for 10 years; and the shutdown of OpenGates laboratory furniture business, Hamilton Scientific, after it discovered that a drug cartel had overrun its Mexico plant and it was evicted from its Texas facility. 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. Not the case? 2:13-cv-03368 District Judge Audrey B. Collins, presiding. PennySaver workers are suing OpenGate in state and federal court, alleging that the company failed to provide adequate notice about the shutdown. She briefly lived in Santiago, Chile where she edited an online magazine and worked as a translator for doctors from Malaysia following Chile's 8.8 earthquake in 2010. Andrew McCarthy, 53, started working for Golden Guernsey when he was 19 years old. [9], In 2019, OpenGate purchased the lock company Sargent and Greenleaf from Stanley Black & Decker. ScioTeq, a market leader and established name in visualization solutions for the Air Traffic Control, Avionics and Defense markets, is entering a new era as a standalone company as the result of the acquisition by Private Equity firm OpenGate Capital as of 01 July 2021. More than two years after the dairy closed, with bankruptcy proceedings still unfolding, the Storm family hasnt seen the $23,000 they estimate they are owed for the lack of notice and unpaid vacation days. Founded in 2005, OpenGate Capital is a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, California. The company was starting to be profitable. Established in 2005, OpenGate Capital is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with a European office in Paris, France. If we wanted to liquidate the company it would be done by now. Weinbergs cash was to be held in escrow until stocks held by Darden Sr. were placed in a collateral account. Newkirk was fully involved in the scam, prosecutors allege. Type: Company - Private. 66% of employees would recommend working at OpenGate Capital to a friend and 61% have a positive outlook for the business. The owner, private equity firm OpenGate Capital in Century City, had turned over management of the firm in December to a restructuring and liquidation company, Realization Services Inc. in Bedford Hills, N.Y. And in the two months before the shutdown, the lender, a unit of Capital One Financial Corp., had placed one and sometimes two representatives at PennySavers Brea headquarters to monitor the operation and the companys financial condition, under terms of the line of credit it was using to pay employees, among other expenses. Thomas Bardet - Senior Vice President Operations - OpenGate Capital Official press release ScioTeq - EN. Shortly after the presentation, senior PennySaver staff members were asked to write to OpenGate partner Jay Yook, outlining how they would turn around the company, said Elaine Buckley, who at the time was PennySavers vice president of outside sales. But the checks, it turned out, would not clear. The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2016. 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. 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. 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. PE Firm Sues For Fees On 347M Bid For Engine-Maker - Law360 in Texas, Arkansas, and Wisconsin, who worked for the laboratory furniture company Hamilton Scientific. Hufcor, a market-leading producer of accordion-style doors and mobile room partitions, was profitable when OpenGate bought it. Andrew Nikou is the founder and CEO of OpenGate Capital, a global private buyout firm. OpenGate expected to launch next fund in quick turnaround of the Connecticut boxboard company Fusion Paperboard, and nearly. "OpenGate+Capital" | US Decisions | Law | CaseMine About OpenGate Capital. Revenue: $1 to $5 billion (USD) Competitors: Unknown. [5] At Platinum Equity, he expanded the firm's international presence in Europe. Wrong. 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. Several lawsuits had been filed claiming OpenGate and did not follow proper protocol under the WARN Act when firing hundreds of employees from both PennySaver and Hamilton Scientific. Thermo Fisher Scientific - Wikipedia for a better future. Founded in 1979, Chemsolv is a diversified distributor offering more than 1,000 chemicals including solvents, plasticizers, coolants . The acquisition financing was arranged via a unitranche by Deutsche Bank as . Our Team - OpenGate Capital Capital One said it tried to work with PennySaver on the closure, but to no avail. 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. A global investment manager with a local touch. 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 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. After decades of pro-corporate globalization, people numb to its effects might write . Thermo Fisher, the world's largest maker of laboratory equipment and scientific instruments, agreed to acquire Life Technologies Inc. The legislation will end "the failed experiment of gutting Michigan workers' rights," said one lawmaker. Federal Civil Lawsuit California Central District Court, Case No. Andrew Nikou Founder, Chief Executive Officer OpenGate Capital 10250 Constellation Boulevard, 30th Floor Six months after the purchase, OpenGate sued Thermo Fisher, saying the company had concealed the fact that the Reynosa, Mexico, facility was under seige by the Gulf cartel, whose senior members brandished weapons at company employees and parked tractor trailers and cars at the facility. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! 19, Ex. 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. Nikou was born in 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. OpenGate Capital, LLC, et al., Central District of California, Case No. OpenGate Capital is a private equity firm with offices in Los Angeles and Paris that strives to acquire and optimize lower middle market businesses throughout North America and Europe. I just dont find it funny to ruin peoples lives. 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. LOS ANGELES, August 23, 2022 -- ( BUSINESS WIRE )-- OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, announced today it . I find it to be despicable.. [6] Nikou graduated from William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, California, where he was active in the Persian community. Not meeting those goals or maintaining those levels would result in a default regardless of whether loan payments were made. Andrew Nikou - Wikipedia 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 . EverZinc is headquartered in Lige . [5] however, his actions have also drawn substantial criticism, including numerous lawsuits. Attorneys are either actively filing these cases or investigating to determine whether lawsuits can be filed. Lauren moved back to the states in 2011 and now lives in Long Beach. The Motion was joined by defendants Andrew Nikou and Jay Yook.4 The We need to take legislative action in Congress to rip up the predatory playbook that these private equity firms use to leave workers with nothing but pink slips and lost livelihoods, Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin wrote. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Only logged in subscribers of this site will be able to access the shared article. OpenGate sold OMMIC to Egalux SA Luxembourg in 2008. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, this week sits in the legal dock in Manhattan federal court, pleaded guilty to his own Maxim-related fraud charges in November, Woman has 'loud, full body orgasm' in the middle of LA concert, $76K NJ boarding school admits falling 'tragically short' in protecting teen who killed self after bullying, 'rapist' taunts, Meghan Markle's ailing dad says he refuses 'to be buried by her' in 'final ever' interview, Rihannas iconic Met Gala looks through the years, Fans question North Wests lavish pre-Met Gala gift for Kim Kardashian: No way, Perez Hilton: Boring Meghan and Harry need to give up and move back to UK, Elon Musk Tells Bill Maher Woke Mind Virus Is Dangerous On Real Time, Prince Harry's coronation role still a mystery as William's is revealed. To date, the firm has completed more than 75 transactions, including . One of those businesses, like PennySaver, filed for bankruptcy. OpenGate said PennySaver had to be closed because Capital One unexpectedly pulled its line of credit at the last minute. The firm faced six different lawsuits after abruptly laying off Pennysaver employees in the middle of a work day and failing to give workers their final paychecks. 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. 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. After we signed a contract we thought we were golden, but two months later they told us they were closing the place, Harrelle said. Reporting by Pallavi Ail in Bangalore, Karl Plume in Chicago; editing by Gunna Dickson. 10250 Constellation Blvd Fl 30, Los Angeles, California, 90067, United States. OpenGate Capital. This rating has decreased by -11% over the last 12 months. [9] In 2006, OpenGate purchased OMMIC, a former division of Philips. The allegations are often complex, and the plaintiffs must prove that the defendant violated securities . ), Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, 8 best interview questions to land a top job, Bank rates are up. . Newkirks lawyer, Jonathan Harris, claims Newkirk is no more than a victim just one of many duped by con man Darden Jr. At least two civil suits were filed by lenders who forked over money because they thought they were lending it to Darden Sr. only to learn otherwise when it was too late. To date, the firm has completed more than 75 transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, and has acquired more than $8 billion in gross consolidated revenues. Private equity, an ownership structure that puts distant financiers in charge of how a business is run, has been shown to result in worse health outcomes for patients, at greater cost. A link has been emailed to you - check your inbox. Nikou, its founder, is a board member at the Hammer Museum and, until recently, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. All in the name to make us more efficient. I did NOT send that email [releasing the escrow fund].. So far, the funds administrators have paid the utility bills of several employees. Your email address will not be published. Esko Successfully Closes Sale of Kongsberg Business To OpenGate Capital The firm faced six different lawsuits after abruptly laying off Pennysaver employees in the middle of a work day without giving workers their final paychecks for several days or compensation for unused vacation days. Class Action Lawsuit List 2023 Join Eligibility The sudden closure and lost pay did not surprise former employees of other companies once owned by OpenGate Capital the Los Angeles-based private equity firm that bought PennySaver in 2013. OpenGate Capital Group LLC et al v. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Court Case No. The Industrial Division of the Communication Workers of America paid to publish an open letter to OpenGate Capital's CEO, Andrew Nikou, in an advertisement that . Experience: Mr. Moazami is a Technology industry Senior Advisor to OpenGate Capital. Herb Titus, on what would have been his 20th anniversary with PennySaver, spent the afternoon protesting outside OpenGate Capital in Century City recently. Employees of other OpenGate companies have suffered similar fates. 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. PennySaver had been in financial distress for months before closure You always pay your employees. [25] In that same year, the firm also completed six platform investments, and one add-on, all within the second fund. Most of my clients are in default. Among them were a French childrens book publisher, a Finnish paper producer, the Nicole Farhi division of fashion firm French Connection and Models One Ltd., the modeling agency that has represented supermodels Bar Refaeli, Alessandra Ambrosio, Linda Evangelista and others. OpenGate Capital General Information. Grace Matthews advised Chemsolv on the transaction. Throughout the first year they started to liquidate assets selling property and equipment. Class Action Lawsuit List | Open & Current Cases | ClassAction.org Heres what the numbers show. In too many cases with private equity, big firms acquire businesses and squeeze them for cash, routinely causing bankruptcies. Above, workers attend a May 26 meeting. OpenGate Capital Management has sued the British parent company of a German industrial engine-maker to recover fees after the private equity firm's 347 million ($480 million) deal to buy the . Generating long-term value After laying off all 166 workers at Hufcor's Janesville plant, OpenGate Capital drove the company . Catherine A. Osten, Spragues first selectman, the equivalent of mayor, said the company owes more than $240,000 in back taxes. LOS ANGELES, June 01, 2022 -- ( BUSINESS WIRE )-- OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, announced that it has exited its investment in EverZinc, a global provider of specialty zinc . In January of this year, Thermo Fisher initiated the eviction of Hamilton Scientific from its Texas facility, alleging that it had failed to pay rent on time three times. The companys shares closed at $84.46 on Friday on the Nasdaq. Our tax dollars should make life better not go to waste on bloated military contracts and Pentagon boondoggles. OpenGate Capital is a private equity firm that strives to acquire and optimize lower-to-middle market businesses throughout North America and Europe. This case was filed in U.S. Courts Of Appeals, U.S. Court Of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. OpenGate Capital Fully Exits Investment in EverZinc 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. OpenGate Capital, the private equity firm that owns their employer, Hufcor, announced it was moving its plant out of Janesville, taking those workers' jobs and livelihoods with it. In May of 2022, it was announced Thermo Fisher Scientific went to court to seek a dismissal of the lawsuit. OpenGate Capital raised a new fund: OpenGate Capital Partners II ($585,000,000) News Aug 20, 2019 FinSMEs OpenGate Capital Adds Mr. Damian Blazy as Principal in Operations janv. Its the biggest business closure in Janesville since the Great Recession. In her letter to OpenGate Capital, Baldwin writes, "Your predatory actions in Wisconsin are a powerful example of the urgent need for these reforms." A copy of Senator Baldwin's letter can be found here and below. OpenGate Capital : Portfolio Company, Hufcor Inc., Names Mr. Koben We need a new push to pass this law. Nikou grew up with a passion for trading baseball cards and competing in breakdancing competitions. We have just sent you an email so you can verify your account. OpenGate Capital Completes Acquisition of ScioTeq and TREALITY from [34] On October 7, 2014, an official ceremony was held to celebrate the inauguration of the first Esperanza Azteca America program at the Florence Nightingale Middle School in Los Angeles. At age 25, he moved to Paris to help open the firm's first European office. Nikou instead tries to generate goodwill as a philanthropist and has even started his own foundation, which boasts of a mission driven by values empowering individuals and communities. Nikou still sits on numerous boards, including that of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. PDF Case 2:17-cv-04360-RGK-E Document 40 Filed 09/26/17 Page 1 of 11 Page OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, has acquired Umicore Zinc Chemicals, a global leader in the production of specialty zinc chemicals, from parent company Umicore.
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