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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.
Joele Frank represents Confluent Inc. as the Mountain View, CA-based data streaming platform company agrees to be acquired by IBM in a deal with an enterprise value of $11B.
Tom Johnson, who has headed H/Advisors Abernathy since 2016, will join FGS Global as global head of private capital & financial services, effective Dec. 16.
Brunswick Group and Gagnier Communications are handling Paramount’s $30 cash per-share offer for all of Warner Bros Discovery, topping Netflix $27.50 cash/stock transaction.
ICR Inc. handles communications for Enhanced Ltd, which plans to run Olympic-type competitions with athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, as it goes public in a SPAC deal valued at $1.2B via a merger with A Paradise Acquisition Corp. of Hong Kong.
C Street Advisory Group handles strategic communications duties for American Signature Inc. as the Columbus-based home furnishings retailer declares Chapter 11.
