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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How a small Ohio town became the 'center of gravity' in the GOP's realignment
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — The Republicans came on Good Friday, condemning corporate America and rallying locals to have faith that their city's paper mill could somehow be saved. One by one, in the shadow of Pixelle Specialty Works' towering red- and white-striped smokestack, they unloaded on the Miami-based private equity firm that plans to close it this summer. H.I.G. Capital, said Sen. Jon Husted, was ignoring the personal toll on more than 800 employees here. 'If the private equity firms who do this to communities had to go walk through and look at every one of you in the eye and hear your stories and see the devastation that they cause when they make selfish decisions,' Husted said, 'they would never do what they do.' Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost aimed his iPhone at the crowd and snapped a picture, which he declared 'Exhibit A' in any potential courtroom fight. 'You just heard from the good cops,' Yost said of the politicians who had spoken before him. 'Meet the bad cop.' And Sen. Bernie Moreno, who organized the April event after writing a letter that blasted ownership as 'Wall Street elites' possessed by 'corporate greed,' shared details from his phone conversation that morning with an H.I.G. official. The mill, Moreno said, had survived the Civil War, two World Wars and the Great Depression. 'It has to be able,' Moreno added, 'to survive a private equity company.' A decade ago, such public shaming of the private sector by GOP officeholders would have been unthinkable. But the uproar around Chillicothe reflects a continuing political realignment under President Donald Trump, whose economic populism has shaken Republicans' pro-business coalition. Moreno, a multimillionaire who made his money selling luxury cars, is emblematic of the shift. He won his seat last year with Trump's endorsement, defeating Sen. Sherrod Brown, a three-term Democrat known for his populist, pro-labor views. Republicans painted Brown and other Democrats as elitists out of touch with places like Chillicothe and surrounding Ross County, where Trump and Moreno both won in 2024. 'It's the most interesting political shift that I've ever seen,' Moreno said in an interview. 'The center of gravity for the Democratic Party is Martha's Vineyard. The center of gravity for the Republican Party is Chillicothe, Ohio.' Pixelle announced plans to shutter the Chillicothe mill in April, triggering the Moreno-led stampede to town days later. The company has seen a decreased demand for the carbonless paper made there as the use of digital receipts and invoices becomes more common. 'We are committed to working closely with local, state, and federal officials to explore future opportunities for the site, including the potential for a new owner and/or eventual redevelopment,' Pixelle wrote in an statement provided to NBC News. The effort to save the mill, or to at least ensure a new employer can take it over as quickly as possible, hit a snag this month. H.I.G. and Pixelle reneged on an agreement to pause the shutdown timeline and keep the factory open through the end of the year — a reprieve that would have bought time to identify a new tenant or use for the property. It had been the one shred of good news Moreno delivered at his April rally. 'Bernie has been the face of this,' said Jai Chabria, a longtime Republican strategist in Ohio. 'Whether he's successful or not is not the measure of where we are. If you look back at the Republican Party of 20 years ago, this is certainly not where a wealthy Republican senator would be expected to lead. Bernie has really embraced where the party has gone.' Even so, Katie Seewer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party, faulted Republicans for 'the latest in a long streak of bad economic news' in the state, noting that Moreno had raised hopes that the mill's closure wouldn't happen this year. 'Republicans own these failures and many others that have created an economy that isn't working for Ohio,' Seewer added. Pixelle is scheduled to end all Chillicothe operations by Aug. 10. The workers there — many of them second- and third-generation paper mill employees — are now waiting to see how much of the tough talk from Moreno and his colleagues leads to action. 'Bernie's railing against private equity,' said Scott Wiesman, who has worked at the mill for 30 years. 'But if you Google it, he's invested in private equity. So how evil is it, Bernie?' Mayor Luke Feeney, a Democrat, gives Moreno more credit. 'My hope and belief is that his efforts have been genuine and sincere,' Feeney said. 'All of those guys that got up there and on that stage said, 'We will sue them if they do this to you' — I hope they stick to it, and until they don't, I'm good with it.' But, Feeney added, 'if it turns out that it was just a dog-and-pony show, then I'll be pretty frustrated, because we're left with the aftermath here.' Chillicothe, about an hour's drive south of Columbus, has a proud history as Ohio's first state capital. Today, it has a population of roughly 22,000, a promising tourist economy boosted by the nearby Hopewell earthworks and mounds, and a redeveloped downtown that Feeney holds up as a small-town success story. Less than a mile from Pixelle, bustling Paint Street features two craft breweries, a boba house and other trendy businesses tucked into tidily restored storefronts. The name of a hip cafe, Paper City Coffee, pays tribute to one of the town's top employers. (Countywide, the mill is the third-largest source of jobs, behind the regional hospital system and a Kenworth Trucks plant.) The mill is 'as much a part of the scenery as the hills and everything else around here,' said Michael Throne, the head of the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce, who recalled his first glimpse of the smokestack when driving to town for a job interview years ago. 'I'd seen smokestacks before,' Throne said. 'But nothing that towered over the landscape of the city.' Chillicothe's papermaking days date to 1812. For more than 100 years, the city was a hub for Mead, a company that would become a household name in school and office supplies. 'The paper mill really supported southeast Ohio,' said Jeff Allen, president of the United Steelworkers Local 731, which represents Pixelle workers. 'They used to tell us that for every job in the mill, there were three outside the mill.' Over time, Mead's name slowly disappeared. Market forces — a world less reliant on paper, a tangle of mergers and acquisitions — kept bouncing the old mill into new investment portfolios. In 2022, H.I.G. purchased what four years earlier had been rebranded as Pixelle. 'We were Mead kids. Our kids were Mead kids,' said Tim Jenkins, a mill employee for 38 years. 'With the strike in '75, you walked through the lunch line, you could get a free lunch when you said, 'I'm a Mead kid.'' 'Little things like that you never forget.' Feeney, who grew up in Seattle and moved to Chillicothe after graduating from law school in Cleveland, was elected mayor in 2015. National Democrats, eager to project strength in conservative-leaning parts of the Midwest, gave him a speaking slot at their convention the following year. Back then, Feeney estimated, the paper mill accounted for about 13% of the city's income tax receipts. The number has dropped to about 8%, reflecting a more diverse local economy, but also a shrinking workforce. Feeney could never shake the thought that the mill's narrow focus wouldn't age well. 'In the back of my mind, I figured that there was some chance that the paper mill won't be around forever,' he said. 'Paper might not be used in a hundred years.' Despite obvious signs of decline, Pixelle's announcement that it would close the mill came as a shock. No one wanted to believe the worst. 'We saw changes in how they were running the business, and you could tell that wasn't sustainable,' said Allen, who has worked at the mill for 37 years. 'But I don't think anybody thought it was going to truly close. We just thought we would recover — they would make changes, and it would straighten itself out.' While the Pixelle news was gutting, if not entirely unexpected, Moreno's interest in taking on its owners came as a much bigger surprise. Once a swing state, Ohio has heavily favored Republicans in recent elections. But in 2012, voters in the state backed President Barack Obama after being inundated with ads and messaging that characterized his GOP rival, Mitt Romney, as a soulless businessman. Specifically, the ads tied Romney's work in private equity to job losses in Ohio and across the industrial heartland. Republicans at the time dismissed such tactics as attacks on capitalism. 'My political thinking certainly evolved from the Mitt Romney time to today,' Moreno said. 'While Mitt Romney and the people at Bain Capital made a lot of money doing that, they also caused a lot of damage. Fundamentally, that's wrong, and that's not the way Republicans saw things back then.' Moreno said he first learned of plans to close the mill from a car dealer in Chillicothe and described his reaction as 'quite frankly, just pissed off.' He directed his staff to make the issue a priority. His deputy state director, a Chillicothe native, recently moved back to the city. 'I was bowling, my phone rings,' Allen recalled. 'This guy says he's from Bernie Moreno's office, that Bernie's going to come to town. I said, 'Listen, I'm in a bowling league, can I call you back?' I thought, 'You know what? I better listen to this.' But I was suspect of it.' Feeney recalled reading Moreno's strongly worded letter that demanded answers from the owners: 'I don't think I disagreed with anything in it.' But the reprieve that Moreno's saber-rattling helped win was even more short-lived than expected. Less than two months after the Good Friday rally, Pixelle issued an updated notice that the mill would close within 60 days — not, as owners had pledged, at the end of the year. 'I would prefer not to shut down at all, but, remember, I have no leverage,' Moreno said. 'There's no tool in my toolbox where they had to listen to me.' Moreno said H.I.G. instead 'offered up an alternative that was workable' and that could involve transferring the land to a community organization free of environmental concerns. Such an arrangement could make it easier to reuse or redevelop the site. Feeney described such a situation as ideal. But the mayor worries about the site becoming home to a low-staffed data center. 'I don't want to see hundreds of acres and 20 employees,' Feeney said. State and local officials also remain engaged, prepared to assist in talks to sell or redevelop the site and to help match displaced workers with new jobs. Many note an anticipated surge in other skilled manufacturing jobs in the wider region. There are plans for new semiconductor, drone and electric vehicle battery plants all within about a 45-minute drive from Chillicothe. There also remains hope, especially among Pixelle workers, that the site can continue as a paper mill, with corrugated cardboard and other packaging materials mentioned as a possibility if carbonless is no longer an option. Representatives from three large paper companies have toured the mill but found it unsuitable for their needs, Moreno said. 'They all kind of told me the same thing,' he added. 'The patient's too far gone' because of lack of proper investments. The experience has been instructive, Moreno said. He has ordered his staff to conduct 'a full audit of Ohio companies' that in the coming years might find themselves in a situation similar to Pixelle's and identify ways to intervene before it's too late. 'I don't want to play Whac-A-Mole,' Moreno said. 'I want to be proactive and avoid the next 20 Chillicothes.' This article was originally published on
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
H.I.G. Capital Expands Its European Middle Market Private Equity Team with the Addition of Antonin Marcus
PARIS, June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G." or the "Firm"), a leading global alternative investment firm with $70 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce today that Antonin Marcus has joined the Firm as a Managing Director on H.I.G.'s Middle Market Private Equity team in France. Based in Paris, Antonin is a proven private equity investor with over 15 years of experience in private equity and finance, covering several sectors and investment strategies. Prior to joining H.I.G., he spent eight years with Eurazeo. Before that, Antonin worked for H.I.G. in Paris, and he began his career with Goldman Sachs in London. Olivier Boyadjian, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Paris office, commented: "Antonin is a highly regarded private equity investor. We are excited to have him rejoin H.I.G. as a Managing Director in charge of our Middle Market LBO activities in France." Markus Noe-Nordberg, Managing Director and Head of the H.I.G. European Middle Market LBO team, said: "We are delighted to welcome Antonin to our team. His deep experience and extensive network will be instrumental to our continued success in France." In commenting on his new role, Antonin Marcus added: "I am thrilled to be back with the H.I.G. team and build upon the success in Europe. Through H.I.G.'s Middle Market LBO strategy, we will further complement the Firm's breadth of capabilities in France with an additional focus on larger transactions." About H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $70 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Stamford in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach: H.I.G.'s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses. H.I.G.'s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance. H.I.G.'s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at *Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates. Contact: Olivier BoyadjianHead of H.I.G. Paris officeoboyadjian@ Markus Noe-NordbergManaging Directormnordberg@ H.I.G. European Capital S.A.S.2, Rue Lord Byron5th Floor75008 ParisFranceP: +33 (0) 1 53 57 50 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE H.I.G. Capital Sign in to access your portfolio
Cision Canada
02-06-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
H.I.G. Capital Expands Its European Middle Market Private Equity Team with the Addition of Antonin Marcus
PARIS, June 2, 2025 /CNW/ -- H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G." or the "Firm"), a leading global alternative investment firm with $70 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce today that Antonin Marcus has joined the Firm as a Managing Director on H.I.G.'s Middle Market Private Equity team in France. Based in Paris, Antonin is a proven private equity investor with over 15 years of experience in private equity and finance, covering several sectors and investment strategies. Prior to joining H.I.G., he spent eight years with Eurazeo. Before that, Antonin worked for H.I.G. in Paris, and he began his career with Goldman Sachs in London. Olivier Boyadjian, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Paris office, commented: "Antonin is a highly regarded private equity investor. We are excited to have him rejoin H.I.G. as a Managing Director in charge of our Middle Market LBO activities in France." Markus Noe-Nordberg, Managing Director and Head of the H.I.G. European Middle Market LBO team, said: "We are delighted to welcome Antonin to our team. His deep experience and extensive network will be instrumental to our continued success in France." In commenting on his new role, Antonin Marcus added: "I am thrilled to be back with the H.I.G. team and build upon the success in Europe. Through H.I.G.'s Middle Market LBO strategy, we will further complement the Firm's breadth of capabilities in France with an additional focus on larger transactions." About H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $70 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Stamford in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach: H.I.G.'s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses. H.I.G.'s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance. H.I.G.'s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at *Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates. Contact: Olivier Boyadjian Head of H.I.G. Paris office [email protected] Markus Noe-Nordberg Managing Director [email protected] H.I.G. European Capital S.A.S. 2, Rue Lord Byron 5 th Floor 75008 Paris France P: +33 (0) 1 53 57 50 60 SOURCE H.I.G. Capital
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio paper mill closure pushed back; lawmakers vow to keep it operating
Ohio leaders are coming together to try and save a historic paper mill and the hundreds of jobs associated with it. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] It was announced earlier this week that the Pixelle paper mill in Chillicothe would be closing in the next few weeks and that it would be moving most of its operations to Pennsylvania. It's a decision that would impact nearly 800 workers in the Buckeye State. In a letter to H.I.G. Capital, the investment firm that bought the mill in 2022, U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno called the decision to close 'corporate greed,' our news partners at WBNS reported. In a social media post sent on Friday, Moreno said he has since spoken to H.I.G. Capital, owner of the Pixelle paper mill in Chillicothe. 'They have agreed to PAUSE the closure of the Chillicothe paper mill until the end of the year. I look forward to working with them to find a solution that guarantees the well-being of Ohio workers,' Moreno wrote. TRENDING STORIES: Longtime Kings Island roller coaster gets new name honoring Cincinnati Customer complaints lead to fuel quality investigation at local gas stations 1 dead after school bus flips due to blown tire Moreno joined U.S. Jon Husted, Governor Mike DeWine, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost at a press conference at the mill on Friday to discuss their next steps. 'We're going to find a company that's willing to come to Chillicothe to invest in people first, invest in the people who bust their you-know-what over there,' Moreno told the crowd. 'I am confident that this mill will not only survive next year but for the next 200 years in this community.' DeWine said while they can't guarantee that, they're 'all in this together.' 'We're pledging to do everything that we can,' DeWine said. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
H.I.G. Capital acquires revenue cycle management solutions provider GetixHealth
US-based investment firm H.I.G. Capital has acquired GetixHealth, a provider of revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions, through an affiliate. The acquisition aims to offer a wider range of RCM solutions to healthcare providers. GetixHealth provides a suite of services across eligibility and enrolment, patient responsibility management, patient access, third-party claims resolution and insurance billing. Its capabilities are supported by a range of technology tools, healthcare RCM expertise and more than 30 years of industry experience. GetixHealth CEO Kevin Lonergan said: 'Over the last decade, we have made significant investments in our team, solutions, and proprietary technologies to position GetixHealth as a leading partner to healthcare providers. 'Due to the complex reimbursement environment and evolving regulatory landscape, our customers are increasingly turning to us to address their revenue cycle challenges. 'We are excited to partner with H.I.G. to leverage their resources and deep RCM expertise to further invest in our capabilities.' H.I.G. Capital said that care providers partnering with GetixHealth would benefit from reduced costs, improved cash conversion cycles, administrative processes, patient experience, and adherence to regulatory requirements. The company will work with GetixHealth's management to support growth investments that are currently in progress in GetixHealth's platform. H.I.G. Capital managing director Anthony Chambers said: 'GetixHealth is a vital partner to healthcare providers, including many of the nation's largest health systems. We are impressed by the company's capabilities and stellar reputation among its clients and patients. 'We also recognise the importance of maintaining best-in-class capabilities and look forward to collaborating with management to support continued investments in technology and operational excellence.' GetixHealth supplies RCM technologies and services designed to 'transform' the patient experience while improving financial performance for healthcare providers. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Sugar Land, Texas, US. "H.I.G. Capital acquires revenue cycle management solutions provider GetixHealth" was originally created and published by Hospital Management, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
