There’s no doubt Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney will have to answer questions about his past dealings with private-equity, considering he was the CEO of Bain Capital.
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With the recent reports that Romney remained CEO of Bain for years longer than believed, he has now thrust the private-equity firm into the 2012 spotlight.
But what is Bain Capital exactly? By no means was it a job creator. Like all investment firms, it was designed for returns for its investors. In other words, it made people very rich, people like Romney.
Bain’s most common strategy was to hold companies for a period of time, then flip them for a quick profit.
Over Romney’s 15-year career with Bain Capital, he helped turned $37 million and seven employees into 115 employees and $4 billion.
It’s reported that he amassed a personal wealth of up to $250 million, depending on the estimate.
One thing is certain; Mitt is about money and with Bain Capital catapulting him into the 1 percent, it’s important to know how that partnership worked. So doing a little digging, here are a few things you need to know about Bain Capital.
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Bain has invested in or bought Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts brands, AMC Entertainment, Toys “R” Us and Burlington Coat Factory, just to name a few. Today their total assets are estimated to be at $66 billion.
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Bain Capital is worldwide. Their headquarters are in Boston’s John Hancock Tower, but the firm also has offices in Chicago, New York, Palo Alto, London, Luxembourg, Munich, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
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Bain was one of the first investors in Staples. The first store opened in 1986 in Brighton, Mass., after Bain invested $650,000 in the start-up.
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With the mounting pressure to turn a profit in Bain’s difficult early days, Romney’s colleagues noticed he would sweat through his shirts from the pressure and they dubbed it “pitting.”
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And of course, the infamous Bain photo. In a 1984 photo shoot celebrating the launch of the company, Romney and his seven partners posed for a picture with $10 and $20 bills. Romney is shown holding one bill, with others popping out of his jacket.
