In a new web ad, the Democratic National Committee attacks Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital. The ad quotes CNN anchor Anderson Cooper saying, “ Remember, the 100,000 jobs created is a figure that includes all the growth at Staples, Domino’s, and Sports Authority long after Mitt Romney had anything to do with them, whereas the job losses are directly connected to his tenure.” Worth consideration is Ramesh’s tweet from Saturday night: “Somehow I think if companies stopped hiring people after Bain’s involvement was over, that would be counted against Romney.” Watch the ad below.
This morning, the Wall Street Journal offers a more thorough analysis of Romney’s time at Bain:
The Wall Street Journal, aiming for a comprehensive assessment, examined 77 businesses Bain invested in while Mr. Romney led the firm from its 1984 start until early 1999, to see how they fared during Bain’s involvement and shortly afterward.
Among the findings: 22% either filed for bankruptcy reorganization or closed their doors by the end of the eighth year after Bain first invested, sometimes with substantial job losses. An additional 8% ran into so much trouble that all of the money Bain invested was lost.
Another finding was that Bain produced stellar returns for its investors—yet the bulk of these came from just a small number of its investments. Ten deals produced more than 70% of the dollar gains.
Some of those companies, too, later ran into trouble. Of the 10 businesses on which Bain investors scored their biggest gains, four later landed in bankruptcy court. . . .
The Journal analysis shows that in total, Bain produced about $2.5 billion in gains for its investors in the 77 deals, on about $1.1 billion invested. Overall, Bain recorded roughly 50% to 80% annual gains in this period, which experts said was among the best track records for buyout firms in that era.