Union Leaders Applaud Private Equity Deal
In The Wall Street Journal’s Deal Journal blog, author David Benoit highlights The Carlyle Group’s acquisition of Sunoco Inc.’s Philadelphia refinery in an attempt to make the facility profitable once again. The piece identifies the disconnect between the tone of the debate around private equity in the context of the presidential election and the reality on the ground where, “both sides of the aisle and union members applauded Carlyle’s deal.”
By injecting growth capital and lending management expertise, The Carlyle Group saved 850 at-risk jobs and allayed fears that closing the facility could have a potentially negative impact on fuel prices.
The United Steelworkers (USW) praised the deal.
“We found them to be honorable,” said Leo Gerard, USW’s International President, in an interview. “They weren’t behaving like vulture capitalists; they wanted to build real businesses and invest. I think they realized there’s a real opportunity to make it work. They’re not attempting to suck the air out of the company.”
In Pennsylvania, Republican Governor Tom Corbett called the deal “a testament to what can be accomplished when the public and private sectors work together toward a common goal; creating job opportunities for current and future generations.” Democratic Pennsylvania Representatives Robert Brady and Chaka Fattah also lauded the deal.
To read the full story, click here.
Carlyle isn’t the only private equity firm to save union jobs in the recent past. Click here to read about Blackstone’s turnaround of the Delaware City Refinery.
