London, Feb 14 - Damon Buffini, the managing partner at private equity firm Permira, has contacted one of Britain's biggest unions in a bid to calm rising antagonism about leveraged buyouts.
Buffini sent a letter to Paul Kenny, the general secretary of GMB, saying he was "eager to set the record straight" about the way Permira and its private equity peers operate.
The industry has been notoriously guarded about almost every aspect of the way it does business, but that has been changing in recent months with efforts to change its public image including the establishment of an industry trade group in Washington.
In Britain, Permira has been singled out by GMB as a scourge to workers following the firm's deals to buy motor service firm Automobile Association and frozen food maker Birds Eye, and related job cuts at both.
GMB members picketed a London charity event held last month by the private equity industry and has lobbied for the UK government to end tax relief for interest payments on loans used in leveraged buyouts.
The rhetoric against the industry has escalated in recent weeks since a group of private equity firms -- not including Permira -- disclosed they were contemplating a bid to buy UK supermarket group J Sainsbury.
"I understand that some confusion and apprehension exists regarding the way companies such as Permira operate and I am eager to set the record straight," Buffini wrote in his letter dated Tuesday and seen by Reuters.
"We are committed to having an open and constructive relationship with trade unions," he continued. "As such, I would be keen to hear your views on private equity and how Permira can continue to play a positive role in securing the futures for businesses and workers in the UK and across Europe."
GMB, which claims about 600,000 members, said it would like to meet with Buffini, though a spokesman said "we sincerely hope this is not a PR stunt," a type of manoeuvre the union knows a thing or two about.
It once put a camel in front of Buffini's church in south London to protest the AA deal by suggesting the biblical view that it is easier to thread a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. GMB also sent its members Christmas cards featuring Buffini's likeness.
"We welcome the opportunity to meet Mr. Buffini and to hear him explain to us why he de-recognised the GMB at the AA and the logic for sacking 5,000 workers at the AA and Birds Eye", the GMB spokesman said.
On the tax issue, the British Venture Capital Association trade group, which also plans to meet with GMB soon, argues that any business can get tax breaks by borrowing money.
"I would say that corporate debt in the UK is far in excess of anything borrowed by private equity and they benefit from that," said Peter Linthwaite, BVCA's chief executive, on a recent radio programme.
"And it's because of this deductiblity they're able to invest, build businesses, create jobs."