Carlyle Retains Minority Investment in Golden Goose

The Carlyle Group sold it majority stake in Golden Goose on June 16, 2020.  Carlyle inked the deal mid-February before the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the global economy. In the interim Golden Goose closed some retail stores as countries tried to stem the virus' spread.

Golden Goose chief executive officer Silvio Campara has taken the proverbial bull by the horns, deciding to skip a season as the coronavirus spreads, Italy is in lockdown and stores are closed.

There's no word if Carlyle had to lower the price of Golden Goose, like many deals made before the economic free fall from COVID-19 lock-downs.  Buyer Permira did not pull a Carlyle and walk away from the deal (as The Carlyle Group did with American Express Global Business Travel).

I imagine Carlyle told Permira that Fed Chief Jay Powell's trillions in financial intervention made Golden Goose more valuable, not less.  The stinking rich got stinkier thanks to Powell's trillion dollar firehose.  Jay Powell is a former Carlyle executive, as is Fed Vice Chair Randall Quarles.

The Carlyle Group bought Golden Goose in March 2017.  In September 2018 Golden Goose makes luxury sneakers that looked anything but:  Time reported:

Italian luxury sneaker brand Golden Goose came under fire after it debuted a pair of $530 sneakers that are styled to look dingy and worn-out with duct tape accents that’s described on Nordstrom’s website as “crumply, hold-it-all-together tape.”

“[Our] company is proud to highlight its pioneering role in the booming of the distressed look, one of the current biggest trends in fashion,” the Venetian label said in a statement to Us magazine. “The duct tape reinforcements appearing on the [Superstar sneaker] style pay homage to the West Coast’s skater culture — professional skaters, who have inspired the brand’s shoe collections from the beginning, repair their shoes with the same kind of tape.”

The design is a riff on the “distressed” fashion trend, but some shoppers think that the intentional wear and tear of a pair of brand-new sneakers is in poor taste, especially when seen in the context of those whose shoes look like that because of economic depression as opposed to a style trend.

Carlyle holds a stake in Supreme, another retailer appealing to urban, skater culture.  Supreme founder James Jebbia came under fire recently for his ties to The Carlyle Group.  A Carlyle affiliate makes tear gas, flashbangs rubber bullets and other crowd control, suppression products used against. Jebbia's loyal customers.

Carlyle's golden touch remains.  Golden Goose did not fall into bankruptcy as did two private equity retailers, J. Crew and Neiman Marcus.

Summer brings what to an America losing its battle against the coronavirus while forced to wrestle with its racists underpinnings?  Recall Thomas Jefferson could have freed his slaves after a dear friend willed him the funds to do so.  Instead Jefferson innovated in the financial arena, using his slaves as collateral for a loan from a Dutch bank.  That's PEU worthy.

The young and wealthy need not worry about that.  Golden Goose encourages:

Carlyle is having a golden summer thanks to Jay Powell and Golden Goose.  Superstar is their motto.  Grapes and cherries for the PEU boys and their sponsored politicians.  Nothing for you.

Update 6-21-20:  Taylor Swift's Golden Goose shoes remain ripe for some type of symbolic act as Carlyle remains a minority shareholder.

Carlyle Winning Under COVID-19

The Carlyle Group has several ways to make money off the coronavirus.  Reuters reported:

Private equity firm Carlyle Group Inc-backed Ortho Clinical Diagnostics said on Wednesday its COVID-19 antibody testing program received a grant of $678,000 from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

The medical firm said it currently makes two COVID-19 tests - a total antibody test that detects all COVID-19 antibodies and the IgG test, which detects a specific antibody that appears in the patient's blood in the later phase of the infection and remains elevated even after recovery.

In late February Carlyle bought blood products software maker MAK Systems.  Blood plasma is one of the treatments for those ill with COVID-19.  MAK Systems is a blood plasma play.  Plasma carries the antibodies that could help sick patients recover.   

Carlyle could be both a testing and treatment play, especially since the Fed and Congress sent a fire hose of cash to keep companies from failing.  

The Carlyle Group's stock closed at $30.94 today, well off its March low of $17.08.  Fed Chair and former Carlyle executive Jay Powell rescued his brethren with promises to buy corporate bonds.  It's not clear if Powell bought bonds from any Carlyle affiliates.  I am curious if Jay's Fed bought any Ortho Clinical bonds.  

Carlyle Group Affiliate Yashili Sickened His Child, Sent Him to Jail

Caixin reported:

The father of a girl who became sick during a 2008 tainted milk scandal in China says he will not give up his battle for compensation.  Guo Li was jailed for five years after being accused of trying extort money from Yashili International Holdings, however, a court in China’s Guangdong province overturned his conviction.  Guo, who was exonerated after serving his full prison sentence, is now seeking compensation from the courts, the police and Yashili for a nine-year ordeal which he said has left him scarred physically and mentally.

“I feel like an ant taking on an elephant,” Guo, a former interpreter, said in a telephone interview with The Australian Financial Review in English.  “My case is unusual in China. I am pressing for the full package in terms of compensation. I was wrongly sentenced to five years in prison. I was physically and mentally harmed. My daughter is sick.”

The Carlyle Group invested in Yashili just after Chinese children were sickened and killed by tainted infant formula.  Carlyle 's 17.3% ownership came in September 2009, just after Yashili accused the father of extortion   Carlyle's due diligence would have the PEU very aware of risks.

What made Guo Li so dangerous that Yashili would use the police and legal system against him?

Guo campaigned on behalf of other parents and made headlines in China.

Mr. Li was convicted in 2010.  He spent one year in police detention and another four years in the prison system.  In 2013 The Carlyle Group sold its stake in Yashili.

Based on the offer price, Carlyle’s stake in Yashili is worth $388 million, or nearly two times its original investment in 2009.

Does Supreme's James Jebbia know the Guo Li story?  I'll venture Taylor Swift learns about Mr. Li as she continues her battle with the man filled Carlyle Group.  Many are harmed in the wake of private equity ownership.  Greed does that.  

Update 6-16-20:   The City of Missoula's bad faith lawsuit against Carlyle has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The city's attorneys say they have evidence of Carlyle Grouo fraud and malice.  Another lawsuit comes from a Carlyle hedge fund employee.  It claims Carlyle wrongfully terminated the whistleblower after complaining the firm "allowed nearly $2 billion worth of investment funds, including teachers’ and firefighters’ pension accounts, to drain down to less than $50 million without telling the account administrators."   

Supreme Cool Under Fire for Carlyle Group Sponsorship

Inside Hook reported:

Supreme is a streetwear brand with over two decades of history that just made a $500,000 contribution to Black Lives Matter, Equal Justice Initiative and other like-minded causes.

Dig deeper into the brand, however, and you find a company with a troublesome ownership group very much at odds with the brand’s purported ethos.

As Monster Children pointed out, Supreme founder James Jebbia sold half the business to The Carlyle Group in 2017, a global investment firm with ties to the defense industry — including ownership of Combined Tactical Systems, a company that (as MC suggests) “specializes in the manufacture of military and police equipment such as tear gas canisters, flash grenades, breaching munitions (rubber bullets), and handcuffs.”

 Carlyle bought half of Supreme in October 2017.  Pitchbook noted:

Which brings us back to why a firm in the decidedly uncool realm of private equity would pursue a brand that exists at the intersection of fashion, music, sports and pop culture. 

By backing an apparel company that does things differently, Carlyle is hoping to find a different result (than the string of private equity owned retail bankruptcies). 

CNBC reported Supreme's popularity arises from youthful rebellion:

One explanation for Supreme’s popularity with young consumers — enough so to make them line up for hours at a time — has to do with the idea that the brand’s products are “emblematic of rebellious youth culture,” according to Gage.

“I would call it a brand that’s heavily integrated with art and culture that tends to drive demand through consumer desire and consumer passion as opposed to explicit marketing.”

What happens when youthful rebellion realizes Supreme is 50% owned by a war profiteering private equity underwriter (PEU)?  Carlyle affiliate Combined Tactical Systems sells crowd control and suppression products to militarized police departments, as well as armies around the world.

Carlyle invested in Combined Tactical Systems in 2005, via debt and a minority equity interest.  Carlyle's press release stated:

"Under the brand name Combined Tactical Systems, develops and manufactures "less-lethal" munitions for the defense and law enforcement industries". "

With our expertise in the defense industry, we are excited about this investment and look forward to pursuing acquisitions alongside Point Lookout to grow CSI’s business," said Leo Helmers, Managing Director of Carlyle Mezzanine Partners. 

Headquartered in Plainview, New York, CSI develops, manufactures and sells its products to the U.S. armed forces and other federal agencies, state and local police departments, and foreign military and police agencies around the world. 

Egyptian "Arab Spring" protesters in Tahir Square felt the sting of Combined Tactical Systems teargas in November 2011.  The last week of White House protests included a mass assault of peaceful protesters with products like those made by Carlyle's CTS.

Supreme announced it will donate $500,000 in the fight for racial equality.

How will youthful protestors resolve the Supreme-Carlyle Group disconnect?

Maybe a bottle of $300 Supreme cologne will take the sting out of any lingering teargas effects.  That's Carlyle's hope.

Update 8-17-20:  In a six-minute Instagram video sponsored by skateboarding and clothing brand Supreme, comedian Katt Williams addressed the major events highlighting a chaotic 2020, including the coronavirus pandemic, racial injustice and the upcoming presidential election. Williams said "Things in this world are starting to not fit" and "Civil unrest is what happens every time when a place is ruled by the people and the people's needs are not being met."  He missed the fact that private equity greed is part of the not fitting and Supreme's PEU ownership.  Carlyle has a smattering of COVID-19 profit making ventures and is using the pandemic to sell remote hiring (HireVue) and Supreme products. 

Update 11-10-20:  Carlyle will flip its stake in Supreme for at least a double.  VF Corp announced it purchased Supreme in a $2.1 billion deal.  Carlyle's website has no news story on the deal.

Carlyle Buys Four Old Trailer Parks in Mesa, AZ

AZ Central reported:

A Washington, D.C.-based investor paid $230 million for four older Mesa mobile home parks on Monday, upping its stake in Arizona’s affordable housing market.

The Carlyle Group bought more than 1,000 mobile and manufactured home lots in four parks built mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, according to public real estate records.

AZBigMedia added:

The portfolio sale consists of a total of 1,583 mobile home stalls on 187 acres, for an average of $145,293 per unit.

The Carlyle Group has a history of making affordable mobile homes unaffordable. The greed and leverage boys like to work under the radar so there will be no Trump like branding for the parks.  

Mobile home parks will not be named for Carlyle founders Rubenstein, Conway and D'Aniello.  There will be no communities in honor of Carlyle's co-Presidents, no Younkinsville (Glenn) or Leesburg (Kewsong).

The average monthly cost to live in a Valley mobile home is about $700, compared with the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment of about $1,300.

How will Carlyle's purchase of high demand low income housing unfold in the Mesa area?  

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, investors were working to turn some of the parks closer in, particularly near light rail, into high-end housing developments. Longtime residents relying on the affordable rents lose their homes and often must move farther away from jobs, schools and public transportation. 

How many residents in the three 55+ mobile home communities worked for a private equity affiliate?  How many lost a defined benefit pension as a result of PEU ownership?  How many will lose their mobile home as the Carlyle Group raises rents?  

Lot rents on private-equity-owned properties have risen as high as 15% over two years

The Carlyle juggernaut is back on track, eating up corporations and real estate.  Cheap Fed money and direct U.S. bailouts are high octane fuel for the PEU boys.  

 

Update 6-9-22:  

 

Labor Department Opens 401(k)s for PEU Investments

CNBC reported on a federal labor initiative in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic:

Savers using 401(k) plans may soon be able to invest their retirement money in private equity, long considered strictly the province of the well-to-do.

The U.S. Labor Department issued guidance Wednesday stipulating that business owners with 401(k) plans can more safely offer certain funds with a private equity component to their employees.

Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia's former law firm has a private equity practice.  Their website states:

Gibson, Dunn, Crutcher’s Private Equity Practice represents many of the largest and most active financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and other investor groups around the world.

We provide a full-service solution to our private equity clients.  We handle deals ranging from venture and growth capital transactions through multibillion-dollar club deals.  In close coordination with lawyers in other Gibson Dunn practice areas, we provide a comprehensive service including:

• Due diligence and compliance
• Deal negotiation, documentation and execution
• Tax structuring
• Acquisition finance
• Corporate governance
• Management equity

Post-acquisition, we work with client portfolio companies on a wide range of matters, including business and financial restructurings, add-on acquisitions and leveraged recaps.  We handle private equity exit transactions, including trade sales and initial public offerings.  Because of our international reach, we are involved in some of the most complex multijurisdictional deals.

We also work closely with the fund formation teams of our Investment Funds Practice Group, providing cutting-edge sophistication in the organization of private investment funds and fund management companies, as well as other fund-related matters.

Scalia was sworn in as Labor Secretary on September 19, 2019.  That's fast work on behalf of the greed and leverage boys, major clients of his former law firm.  Secretary Scalia spoke on behalf of the change in a press release.

“This Information Letter will help Americans saving for retirement gain access to alternative investments that often provide strong returns,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said. “The Letter helps level the playing field for ordinary investors and is another step by the Department to ensure that ordinary people investing for retirement have the opportunities they need for a secure retirement.”  

More like PEU founders will gain access to a new, massive pot of money, courtesy once again of Uncle Sam.  

Two former Carlyle Group executives head up the Federal Reserve Bank.  Fed Chief Jay Powell and Vice Chair Randall Quarles turned Carlyle's fortunes around.   The Carlyle Group's stock price is up from $17 on March 18th to $30 today, a 76% increase.

Who knew a global pandemic would be good for the PEU boys?  In America politicians Red and Blue love PEU.

Time will reveal where Scalia ends up after his public service.  Will he go back to Gibson Dunn or officially become a PEU boy?

Footnote:  Gibson Dunn helped Carlyle buy Synagro Technologies, the firm that bribed the wife of U.S. Congressman John Conyers.

Update 6-5-20:  Stocks are set to roar due to a surprise add in jobs from Labor Department statistics.

...the Labor Department noted inconsistent classifications of workers due to pandemic-related effects meant the unemployment rate would have been about 3 percentage points higher than was actually reported.

Carlyle Group stock is up $1.50 to $31.25 a share.

Carlyle Adds 51.4% of Fortitude Re, Can Make Capital Calls on Affiliate

AIG is not American Express.  The Carlyle Group closed on its deal with AIG for Fortitude Group Holdings, a re-insurer of several AIG legacy lines.  Carlyle walked away from its deal for American Express global travel unit mid coronavirus pandemic.

Carlyle will own 71.5% of Fortitude Re, the reinsurer of $30 billion of reserves from AIG’s Legacy Life and Retirement Run-Off Lines and $4 billion of reserves from AIG’s Legacy General Insurance Run-Off Lines related to business written by multiple wholly-owned AIG subsidiaries.

SEC filings on the deal state:

AIG sold a 19.9 percent ownership interest in Fortitude Holdings to TC Group Cayman Investments Holdings, L.P. (“TCG”), an affiliate of Carlyle, in November 2018 (the “2018 Fortitude Sale”).

As a result of completion of the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale, Carlyle FRL purchased from AIG a 51.6 percent ownership interest in Fortitude Holdings and T&D purchased from AIG a 25 percent ownership interest in Fortitude Holdings; AIG retained a 3.5 percent ownership interest in Fortitude Holdings and one seat on its Board of Managers.

The approximately $2.2 billion of proceeds received by AIG at closing include (i) the approximately $1.8 billion under the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale, which is subject to a post-closing purchase price adjustment pursuant to which AIG will pay Fortitude Re for certain adverse development in property casualty related reserves, based on an agreed methodology, that may occur on or prior to December 31, 2023, up to a maximum payment of $500 million; and (ii) a $383 million purchase price adjustment from Carlyle FRL and T&D, corresponding to their respective portions of a proposed $500 million non-pro rata distribution from Fortitude Holdings that was not received by AIG prior to the closing.

In connection with the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale, AIG, Fortitude Holdings, and TCG have agreed that, effective as of the closing, (i) AIG’s investment commitment targets under the 2018 Fortitude Sale (whereby AIG had agreed to invest certain amounts into various Carlyle strategies and to make certain minimum investment management fee payments by November 2021) have been assumed by Fortitude Holdings and AIG has been released therefrom, 

Fortidue Re is obligated to invest $6 billion in Carlyle funds, which places it at risk for capital calls, in addition to management fees and dividend bleeding. 

Carlyle's cash mining sank nursing home giant ManorCare and refinery Philadelphia Energy Solutions, which went up in a giant fireball.   What harm can Carlyle do should it default on Fortitude Re?

Update 7-8-20:  KKR will buy life insurer Global Atlantic for book value, $4.4 billion.  "The buyout group is using its own balance sheet to fund the deal, which will boost KKR's assets under management by a third, to $279bn."  How much did liabilities under management increase with the deal?  

Update 11-20-20:  Carlyle informed investors of their ability to put Fortitude Re funds into Carlyle products. 

Update 8-31-21:  The greed and leverage boys continue their widespread investment in insurance companies.

Update 9-27-21:  ZeroHedge and WSJ noticed the pattern of PEU's buying life insurance portfolios.

Update 6-29-23: Investor Kirk Simon called out the PEU boys buying insurance companies and steering insurance reserves into their PEU offerings.

The whole private equity thing of buying up life insurance companies then investing the premiums just seems a bit sketchy.

I'll shorten it to the whole private equity thing seems a bit sketchy.

Update 4-6-25:  "Is the flow of toxic waste pouring from busted private equity portfolios into credit trades a threat to insurance companies? Yup." 

Update 2-4-26:   An X post by Whitney Baker offered:

In case you’re curious where the losses are, the PE industry has been acquiring and then raiding the floats of c.10% of US life insurance assets. They’ve been filling them with private credit and direct lending, all using the same private ratings agency to misclassify the loans.