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????奧巴馬總統的連任競選團隊日前將火力集中了在米特?羅姆尼的從商經歷上，專門推出了一個網站，著重列出私募股權公司貝恩資本（Bain Capital）在羅姆尼執掌期間進行的一些交易。 ????奧巴馬競選團隊的副經理斯蒂芬妮?卡特在發出郵件宣布推出這個網站之后表示： ????羅姆尼和其合伙人在美國各地收購公司，收購過程往往讓這些公司背負上債務。他們總是大幅縮減養老金、福利和工作崗位，用積累的債務直接付給自己和股東。 ????由于這些債務，有幾家公司已經破產，工人失去了工作，沒有了養老金，也沒有了醫?！_姆尼及其合伙人總是能將數百萬美金收入囊中。 ????每個人都知道業務會有起伏——有時還會遭遇失敗——沒人質疑羅姆尼按自認方式經營公司的權利，也沒人質疑整個私募股權行業。 ????但造成數千人失業、原本健康的企業破產，只為少數人大賺一筆，這個時候就需要質疑——這樣的價值觀就是美國人希望在總統身上看到的嗎？這些價值觀能建立起一個可持續的經濟和支撐起強大、有保障的中產階級嗎？ ????網站目前重點關注貝恩資本的三項交易：GST Steel、Dade Industries和Stage Stores。 ????不幸的是，就像今年早些時候支持共和黨候選人紐特?金里奇的SuperPAC發布的“紀錄片”，奧巴馬的競選團隊也有一些可疑的細節問題。比如，它是這么說Dade Behring的： ????米特?羅姆尼和他的投資者接手了Dade Behring這家業務健康的公司后，讓它背上了沉重債務。他們沒有賣掉這家公司，而是讓Dade背負更多貸款買下他們的股票，將公司推入破產深淵。近3,000名工人失業，羅姆尼及其合伙人卻賺取超過2.5億美元利潤。 ????我不知道定性為“健康公司”是基于什么。2004年，貝恩以4.48億美元收購Baxter International旗下的醫療診斷業務，創立了Dade International。當時，這就是一個失敗的業務部門。比如，MLA當時剛剛取消了同Dade的一大宗血液分析儀/試劑供應協議。Dade不僅喪失了一大塊高利潤的經常性收入，還多了MLA這樣一個有力的競爭對手（貝恩最終在日本找到了替代供應商）。 ????我能想到的就是奧巴馬競選團隊巧妙地選用了Dade Behring這個名字，這是Dade International成立兩年后改用的名字，是在Bain收購一家德國公司（Behring）和一項杜邦（DuPont）診斷業務之后。你也許會說，那時來看，Dade曾是一家“健康的公司”——但這全賴貝恩之賜。而且，有些“利潤”是與收購Behring相關的現金。 ????先申明一點，正如我過去所述，我并不支持貝恩在Dade所做的一切。但奧巴馬競選團隊也沒有任何理由往這個事情上添油加醋。 |
????President Obama's reelection campaign today took its most pointed shots at Mitt Romney's business career, launching a website that focuses on select Bain Capital deals from Romney's time running the private equity firm. ????Stephanie Cutter, Obama's deputy campaign manager, said the following in an email announcing the site: ????Romney and his partners bought companies across the United States, often loading them up with debt in the process. Too often, they slashed pensions, benefits, and jobs, while paying themselves and their shareholders straight from the debt they'd accumulated. ????Because of that debt, several of these businesses went bankrupt, leaving workers without jobs, without pensions, and without health care -- all while Romney and his partners walked away with millions. ????Everyone understands that businesses rise and fall -- and sometimes fail -- and no one is challenging Romney's right to run his business as he saw fit or questioning private equity as a whole. ????But when a handful of people make a fortune by putting thousands out of work and bankrupting once-healthy businesses, it's legitimate to question whether those are the values America needs in a president -- and whether those are the values that will create an economy built to last, with a strong, secure middle class. ????The website currently focuses on three Bain Capital transations: GST Steel, Dade Industries and Stage Stores. ????Unfortunately, somewhat like the "documentary" distributed earlier this year by a SuperPAC supporting Newt Gingrich, the Obama campaign gets a bit bedeviled by certain details. ????For example, look at what it says about Dade Behring: ????With Dade Behring, Mitt Romney and his investors took over a healthy company and loaded it with debt. Rather than sell the company, they then had Dade take out even more loans to buy out their shares, driving the company into bankruptcy. Nearly 3,000 workers lost their jobs, while Romney and his partners made more than $250 million in profit. ????I have no idea where the "healthy company" characterization is coming from. Bain originally created Dade International in 2004, by purchasing the medical diagnostics business of Baxter International (BAX) for $448 million. At the time, it was a failing unit. For example, MLA had just canceled a large blood analyzer/reagents supply contract with Dade. Not only did this cost Dade a large chunk of high-profit, recurring revenue, but it also set MLA up as a viable competitor (Bain ultimately found a replacement supplier in Japan). ????All I can think is that the Obama campaign cleverly used the name Dade Behring, which is what Dade International was renamed two years later once Bain had acquired both a German company (Behring) and a diagnostics unit from DuPont. One could argue that, by that point, Dade was a "healthy company" -- but only thanks to Bain's efforts. Moreover, some of those "profits" were cash tied to the Behring acquisition. ????To be clear, I'm not a big fan of what Bain did with Dade, as I've previously written. But there is no reason for the Obama campaign to embellish on the history.? |
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