Blackstone and others donate millions to Covid-19 relief efforts

Blackstone and Inflexion are the latest to announce donations to organisations working to combat the fallout from the pandemic

Private equity firms on both sides of the Atlantic have announced millions in donations to help combat the coronavirus pandemic.

US buyout group Blackstone and UK-based private equity firm Inflexion have announced donations of $15m and £2.5m respectively, to help relief efforts.

Blackstone said it will make a $10m contribution to the New York State Covid-19 First Responders fund and give an additional $5m to groups that are organising food delivery to healthcare workers and first responders, while also supporting vulnerable populations in the city.

Inflexion, through the foundation that it established in 2018, has donated £2m to the National Emergencies Trust to support their coronavirus appeal, which is raising funds for local charities and grassroots organisations. The Trust was founded last year to raise and distribute funds for national emergencies.

The firm has also donated £250,000 to national charity Turn2Us, which provides financial support to people in poverty. In addition, the Inflexion Foundation, which will receive distributions equal to 1% of the firm’s funds’ profits, has given £125,000 to the Roundhouse and the British Exploring Society. Roundhouse, a performance venue, offers creative art projects to 6,000 young people, half of which are from disadvantages areas of the UK. The British Exploring Society is a youth development charity.

“This is an unsettling and challenging time for all of us but it is clear the impacts from this pandemic will fall especially hard on the most vulnerable in our society,” said John Hartz and Simon Turner, managing partners at Inflexion.

“The coronavirus outbreak has left many people suffering, not just physically due to ill health, but also economically and socially,” added John Herriman, chief executive of the National Emergencies Trust.

“Workers are struggling to make ends meet, small, local businesses are closing their doors, and social distancing and self-isolation means people aren’t able to visit vulnerable loved ones. We are working collaboratively with a wide range of organisations to ensure the maximum amount of money is raised and distributed securely, effectively, and fairly to those organisations and local charities who can do most to help those in need.”

This week, Advent International announced the creation of a $25m fund to help meet the needs of local institutions and charitable organisations impacted by the outbreak. The fund focuses on healthcare professionals, first responders, front-line workers and employees at the firm’s portfolio companies.

Switzerland-based Partners Group also launched a new fund last week to help workers weather the global health crisis, with the firm’s co-chief executives David Layton and André Frei, as well as its board, giving up their salaries for at least the next six months to make cash available.

Source: Financial News

Can’t stop reading? Read more