Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Columbus, expressed “serious concern” to private equity manager Permira Advisers over the planned April closing of the Hugo Boss plant in Brooklyn, Ohio, according to a letter sent by the $69 billion system to Permira.
OPERS has committed $81 million to Permira IV, a fund that includes an investment in Hugo Boss, according to a news release from Workers United, an affiliate of Service Employees International Union, which represents plant employees.
The letter from OPERS Chairman Ken Thomas and CEO Chris DeRose to Philip Bassett, a Permira partner, also said the closing would cause the system to review future investments in Permira funds.
“Closing of this facility may have a deleterious long-term impact on the city of Brooklyn as well as an already-depressed region of the state of Ohio,” according to the letter.
The letter also said Permira IV has underperformed, and that Hugo Boss “did not bargain in good faith with state and community partners” to keep the plant open.
Chris Davison, director of communications at Permira, could not be reached for comment by press time.
