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Stanton PR & Marketing is handling Bain Capital's decision to pay $10M to former Toys "R" Us workers who "lost their jobs as a result of the severe disruption in the retail industry and liquidation of the business."
KKR, Bain's private equity partner in the 2005 buyout of Toys, is also kicking in $10M.
The Financial Times called the agreement "a high-profile victory for employee advocates who have blamed the Wall Street firm's for the retailer's demise."
The "unprecedented move" followed a months-long pressure campaign by ex–Toys workers who persuaded big state pension funds to cut off investments in PE firms connected to the toy chain's buyout.
The $20M "hardship fund" falls short of the $75M that workers were seeking to cover payments they claim were promised "and then was snatched away when creditors opted to liquidate the company in March," reported the FT.
Bain and KKR worked with Ken Feinberg and Camille Biros, who designed and administered the 9/11 Fund, BP Oil Spill Fund, GM Ignition Switch Compensation Fund, OneFund Boston and OneOrlando Fund. They also administered funds created by Roman Catholic dioceses to compensate abuse victims.
The Toys fund will go to ex-employees with at least one year on the job and annual earnings of at least $5K but not more than $110K.
KKR and Bain said they've never experienced the confluence of the disruption in retail and the push by creditors to liquidate Toys' US operation, which led them to "try and find a way to provide some financial relief for former employees."
Stanton PR & Marketing's Alex Stanton and KKR's Kristi Huller handle media for the set-up of the Toys fund.
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