A team of New York Times reporters has identified the investors who are set to take over Erik Prince’s enormous mercenary business in a $200 million deal financed by Bank of America. From the Times:
One of the lead investors in the deal is Jason DeYonker of Forté Capital Advisors, who has a long relationship with Mr. Prince and Blackwater… [H]e managed the Prince family’s money from 1998 to 2002. The other lead investor is Manhattan Growth Partners, a private equity firm in New York.
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[/visitor] Jason DeYonker’s bio says he “began his career with Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance Group, and was a Director in Deloitte & Touche’s Corporate Finance Group. He also was the Finance Director for the West Family Trust, a venture capital group focused on cross-border transactons [sic].” His other partners at Forté are Greg DeYonker, a former vice president at Lear Corporation, and attorney Aaron Kanter.
Manhattan Growth Partners is led by Dean Bosacki and Patrick McBride. Bosacki serves on the board of “the world’s largest commencement photography business,” among other companies. Manhattan Growth Partners, which describes itself as “a progressive thinking private equity firm,” also holds a majority interest in Hugo Naturals, a line of organic, vegan-friendly soaps, lotions, scents and soy candles sold at Whole Foods and other greenwashed retailers.
Being respectful of the earth’s natural resources, and being a steward of this wonderful planet is what Hugo Naturals is all about.
Well, that, and funneling money from upmarket, eco-conscious shoppers to a guy who just bought a stake in a dreaded private army with a reputation for indiscriminate killings.