Gawker released over 950 pages of documents relating to Bain Capital and Mitt Romney's investments, mostly for the years 2008-2010. While I haven't gone through even a fraction of them yet, one entity leaped out at me -- Brookside Capital Partners Fund.
Mitt Romney's Relationship to Brookside Capital Partners Fund, LP (BCPF)
We've heard a lot about Bain Capital and Sankaty Investors, but not too much about BCPF. However, it was listed as an asset on Romney's 2006 disclosures filed while governor of Massachusetts with ownership set at 3 percent.
BCPF goes back much farther than 2006, however. In 1997 and 1998, when Romney was still an active partner in Bain Capital, the structure of Brookside and related entities looked like this, according to the first SEC filing I could find for it:
Brookside Capital Investors, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership ("Brookside Investors"), is the sole general partner of the Brookside Fund. Brookside Capital Investors, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Brookside Inc."), is the sole general partner of Brookside Investors. The executive officers of Brookside Inc. are set forth on Schedule A hereto. Mr. W. Mitt Romney is the sole shareholder, sole director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookside Inc. and thus is the controlling person of Brookside Inc.
To translate that labyrinth a bit, Mitt Romney was the sole shareholder of an entity that was the sole general partner of the investment partnership, BCPF. As general partner, Romney could expect the following:
Pursuant to the terms of a partnership agreement, Brookside Investors as general partner of the Brookside Fund receives a percentage of profits generated by the Brookside Fund. Brookside Inc., as general partner of Brookside Investors, receives a percentage of profits from Brookside Investors. Mr. W. Mitt Romney receives a percentage of profits from Brookside Investors.