Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Counselor DeParle's Missing PEU Stakes?


White House Health Czar Nancy-Ann DeParle's financial disclosure forms are curiously light in her ties to CCMP Capital Partners, a private equity underwriter (PEU) where she worked as Managing Director and served on the board of three affiliates, CareMore, Legacy Hospital Partners and Noble Environmental Partners..

CCMP sponsored Denny Shelton's Legacy Hospital Partners.  DeParle grossed $1.4 million on the sale of Denny's Triad Hospitals to Community Health Systems.  She acquired her shares and stock options during six years on Triad's board.  Surely, she invested some of those proceeds in Denny's latest venture.

Her filing is dated May 13, 2009.  A note at the bottom of the first page states "Per Pilar all conflicting assets have been divested."  The note is dated June 4, 2009.  It would've been hard to unload private equity stakes in summer 2009.  Any sales would've occurred at a deep discount.  Nevertheless, DeParle and CCMP had two months from her nomination to work out an arrangement that would keep PEU information private.

What happens when a Counselor to the President submits a curious financial disclosure form?  It's stamped OK.  An updated filing might show which conflicting assets were sold.  It wouldn't address any omitted PEU stakes.

Update 9-17-11:  DeParle's 2010 and 2011 disclosure forms reveal Obama's Chief of Staff to be as conflicted as Florida Governor Rick Scott.  One shows a residual PEU investment in a medical imaging company.  How could Nancy-Ann get a payment for a conflicting asset she no longer held?

Update 2-26-12:  Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney still receives carried interest from various Bain funds as part of an exit package.  He left Bain Capital in 1989.