Bain Capital, the private equity firm where Mitt Romney made his fortune, may have an interest in investing in a media company that has covered Bain Capital with a critical eye.
Mike Griffin, an analyst at Bain Capital Ventures who joined the company only this year, wrote in an email to Nick Denton, Gawker Media's founder and owner, on Tuesday that "I believe there may be some synergies between Gawker and Bain Capital Ventures and I'd love to find ways that we could be helpful as you continue to grow."
Gawker published nearly 1,000 pages of confidential Bain Capital financial documents in August, which shed light on the private equity firm's alleged tax avoidance. One tax strategy used by Bain Capital may be illegal, Gawker found. The documents also showed that Romney is invested in a company that has loaned money to Las Vegas Sands, which is owned by Republican donor Sheldon Adelson and beset by multiple Justice Department inquiries.
When reached by Gawker, Griffin said that he was not familiar with Gawker's critical coverage of Bain Capital. "I've been working here for like a week now," he told Gawker. "I had no idea about the [Bain stories]. I'm not sure it would work out. This is awkward."
"Maybe they have a special affection for companies organized in the Caymans?" Gawker writer John Cook wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.
Gawker Media is in fact incorporated in the Cayman Islands, where there are no income taxes. Romney himself told the National Review in July that while running Bain Capital, he used offshore sub-companies in the Cayman Islands to help foreign investors avoid U.S. taxes.
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