Threat or Opportunity? Private Equity and Employee Ownership

The recent announcement that the 800 employees of CHI Overhead Doors would receive an average of $175,000 each from the $3 billion sale of the company to Nucor by private equity firm KKR generated considerable publicity—and debate. Was the use of employee ownership by private equity firms just a form of financial greenwashing, a step in the right direction, or a threat to the broader employee ownership movement? The discussion is important because the CHI model is being actively promoted by a new organization, Ownership Works, founded by Pete Stavros, co-head of KKR’s Americas Private Equity platform