The Brief

The Brief: KKR’s Pete Stavros on winning deals with employee ownership

ImpactAlpha · May 7, 2025

Credit: Coffe-Eco

Greetings Agents of Impact!

In today’s Brief:

Employee ownership as a competitive edge
Big PE’s big quarter
Tapping coal ash for critical minerals
Impact(ed) Podcast: Meet hosts Eric Horvath and Lucas Turner-Owens

Featured: Ownership Economy

KKR’s Pete Stavros: Employee ownership is a competitive advantage in private equity (Q&A). Private equity firms, long known for laying off workers to boost profits, are instead starting to look for a competitive edge by sharing a portion of their payouts with employees. KKR, the $638 billion private equity buyout giant, is winning deals from competitors because of the firm’s commitment to employee ownership plans that promise millions of dollars in payouts to non-management workers, says Pete Stavros, KKR’s co-head of global private equity. When KKR won a $1.6 billion auction to acquire Simon & Schuster in 2023, the publisher touted the private equity firm’s pledge to let employees “participate in the benefits of ownership.” The CEO of Charter Next Generation extolled the “life-changing benefits” of KKR’s ownership program for the packaging producer’s employees after KKR’s 2021 acquisition. “There have been some CEOs who have been pretty vocal that, ‘This was a close race at the end among multiple buyers, and we chose KKR because of their orientation towards workers,’” Stavros says in an interview with ImpactAlpha. “It’s not just ownership. It’s the broader ethos around how people are treated, information sharing, employee engagement, teaching financial literacy that’s been attractive.”

Buying opportunity. Having dry powder is an advantage in a time of market turmoil. “Things are still happening,” Stavros said at this week’s Milken Global Conference (see, “With markets down, up and sideways, investors look to ownership, AI and the rest of the world”). The firm has deployed $11 billion across the US, Europe and Asia through April, which he said is “up meaningfully” from last year. Deals, he conceded, are harder to fund. Most have been carve-outs and take-private transactions. “If you’re proactive and you’ve got the right sourcing engine, you can still get stuff done.” The liquidity crisis is creating openings for savvy PE buyers, he said. “For every dollar of assets in the ground, we’ve got 40 cents of dry powder to take it out. All these assets are going to have to find new homes. I think it’s going to be a very interesting time to buy.”

Expanding ownership. Stavros is keen for competitors to level the field. He has championed broad-based employee ownership through Ownership Works, a private equity-led coalition with a collective goal of creating $20 billion in wealth for workers by 2030. KKR in January took a large stake in dental and medical products supplier Henry Schein, marking its first shared-ownership implementation at a publicly-listed company. KKR’s sale of Kito Crosby in March included payouts to unionized workers. “Too often I hear people say that ownership and unions don’t mix and this is one of many examples proving that isn’t the case,” Stavros shares. He’s now advocating for expanded tax incentives and legal protections to broaden the use of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (see, “In a polarized US Capitol, employee ownership brings lawmakers together”). His Expanding ESOPs coalition hopes to see a bill introduced by Congress. “People want to see more employee ownership,” Stavros says. “And across the spectrum, they want government intervention to make it happen.”
Keep reading, “KKR’s Pete Stavros: Employee ownership is a competitive advantage in private equity (Q&A),” by David Bank and Roodgally Senatus on ImpactAlpha. Catch up on all of ImpactAlpha’s coverage of the Ownership Economy, supported by Sorenson Impact Foundation.

Dealflow: Energy Transition

With $120 billion of uncalled capital, Brookfield seeks overlooked opportunities amid market volatility and uncertainty. Big PE firms are shrugging off tariffs and capital constraints that are hamstringing many of their smaller peers. Case in point: Brookfield Asset Management, which hauled in $25 billion across its various strategies during the first quarter, bringing total inflows over the past 12 months to more than $140 billion. The firm is touting its scale, diversification and long-term strategy to capitalize on trends such as decarbonization, deglobalization and digitalization, as well as the growing role of private credit in capital markets. “Across many markets today, the headlines do not reflect the underlying fundamentals, and that disconnect is creating compelling opportunities to deploy capital,” said Brookfield’s Connor Teskey on the firm’s earnings call on Tuesday. That echoed peers such as KKR and Apollo Global Management, which have also been busy investing. “We believe we are one of the largest active buyers of assets post-Liberation Day, with $25 billion in April alone,” Apollo’s Marc Rowan said on the firm’s earnings call last week.

Renewable energy. Brookfield raised $1.5 billion in the first quarter for its renewable power and transition business, including $700 million for its second global transition fund. The fund now has $14 billion in committed capital toward its $17 billion target. Brookfield did not disclose fundraising so far for its fourth infrastructure debt fund, a planned $7 billion fund that’s also focused on renewable energy.
Q1 investments. Brookfield’s renewable transition business invested more than $3 billion last quarter to complete the privatization of French renewable energy developer Neoen. It also laid out $1.2 billion to acquire the renewables business of the UK’s National Grid. Late last month, the United Arab Emirates’ $30 billion Alterra climate fund made a $100 million co-investment, alongside Brookfield, in Indian renewable energy company Evren to develop 11 gigawatts of solar, wind and battery storage (see, “Anchored by Altérra, TPG and Brookfield raise billions for climate opportunities in emerging markets”). In March, Brookfield issued $315 million in green bonds for projects in North America.
Gift this story.

Goparity raises $3 million to make impact investing more inclusive. Portugal’s Goparity is an online platform that allows individuals to invest in renewable energy, sustainable land use, biodiversity protection, financial inclusion and water efficiency projects. Portuguese asset manager 3XP Global led Goparity’s €2.9 million ($3.1 million) round via its Impact Innovation Fund. Schneider Electric’s Energy Access Fund, Ontario-based InvestEco Capital Corp., Swiss investor Regenerative.eco and early stage impact VC firm Mustard Seed Maze also invested. Some 800 individuals from Goparity’s community participated on the same terms as institutional investors, investing €470,000 ($534,000). Goparity has a presence in Spain and expanded into Colombia and Canada earlier this year, and has gotten a green light to operate across the EU.

Micro-investing. Goparity launched in 2017 to give individuals access to the types of impact investments traditionally reserved for institutional or wealthy investors. Goparity’s crowdlending model enables individuals to invest as little as €10 in projects across the Americas, Europe and Africa. Goparity “is reinforcing the belief that sustainable finance can be accessible, inclusive and scalable,” said 3XP Global’s Rita Branco. Goparity has so far invested €45 million across nearly 400 projects and is expecting to surpass €50 million by mid-2025. Its largest campaign so far: €800,000 for Spain’s Comunidad Solar to help businesses and households access solar energy.

Check it out.

Dealflow overflow. Investment news crossing our desks:

Rekosistem, an Indonesian startup that provides household and commercial waste management and recycling services, secured $7 million in a Series A round led by Saratoga Investama Sedaya and K3 Ventures. (e27)

British International Investment forayed into solar manufacturing in India with a $100 million in ReNew Energy Global, a solar PV maker and renewable energy distributor. (British International Investment)

Floral Energy, a London-based builder, operator and manager of microgrids, merged with GridSwitch, a US-based peer. Floral also raised seed funding in a round led by British early-stage investor LocalGlobe. (FinSMEs)

Athens-based Coffeeco Upcycle, which converts coffee waste into skincare products and bioplastics, landed €715,000 ($735,000) in a round led by the UK’s VDK Capital. (TFN)

Impact Voices: Fiduciary Future

From waste to wealth: Turning coal’s toxic legacy into a clean energy future. Across the US, more than 2,000 coal ash ponds – swamps of waste generated by coal-burning power plants – pose a threat to human health and groundwater. “Buried within these toxic dumps is a gold mine of opportunities,” writes As You Sow CEO Andy Behar in a guest post on ImpactAlpha. That’s because the waste sites contain economically viable amounts of the rare earth elements essential to clean energy technologies like batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. With the right incentives and intention, Behar argues, coal ash cleanup could address environmental justice, national security and economic revitalization all at once.

Just transition. Coal pond remediation offers a pathway to transition fossil fuel workers into high-paying clean energy jobs. “Union electricians, operators, heavy equipment drivers and pipefitters already possess the skills needed for coal ash remediation and mineral recovery,” writes Behar. He urges targeted investment in mapping, cleaning and harvesting these sites leveraging the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. “What was once waste can become wealth. What was once a health threat can become a health solution,” he writes. “We can power the clean energy future with the remnants of the extractive past.”
Keep reading, “From waste to wealth: Turning coal’s toxic legacy into a clean energy future,” by As You Sow’s Andrew Behar on ImpactAlpha. Catch up on all of Andy’s Fiduciary Future columns.

Podcast: Impact(ed)

Navigating the path to purpose: Lucas and Eric tell their stories. In the season two opener of Impact(ed), co-hosts Lucas Turner-Owens and Eric Horvath sit in the guest seats for a deeply personal conversation with friend and collaborator Rodney Foxworth of Worthmore. What unfolds is a candid conversation tracing their journeys into the impact investing space. Turner-Owens shares how a pivotal book group shaped his career arc from grassroots organizing to climate-focused venture capital. Horvath shares how his experience as a Korean adoptee raised in Long Island gave rise to a deep empathy, leading him into philanthropy, systems-level investing, and teaching the next generation of changemakers. Together, they unpack Impact(ed), which is about creating space for the full spectrum of stories in finance, especially stories often left out.

Listen to the full episode.

Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent

Omidyar Network promotes Michele Jawando to president. Anamitra Deb will become senior vice president of programs and policy, and Gretchen Phillips will become chief operations officer and senior vice president of strategic partnerships… GEF Capital Partners brings on Karina Saade, a former Goldman Sachs and BlackRock executive, as a strategic advisor and investment committee member… Blue Earth Capital welcomes Vita Mateychuk, previously with Citi, as a private equity partnerships analyst… Zarin Kresge, previously with Certified Employee-Owned, joins Project Equity as an associate director of learning products.

Regeneration.VC adds Nathan Jackson of Circular Ventures as an advisor… Allison Jegla, formerly with 100 Women In Finance, becomes head of platform of Renown Capital Partners, an energy-focused venture capital firm… Rebalance Capital welcomes Laura Rafferty of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business as an Impact Capital Managers mosaic fellow (see, “Empowering young impact professionals to advance their careers and their impact”).

Skoll Foundation is recruiting a general counsel in Washington, DC… ICA Fund is hiring a chief investment officer in Oakland, Calif… BMO seeks a vice president of social equality and global asset management in Toronto… The Water Foundation is looking for a chief partnerships officer… Raymond James Financial has an opening for a community impact associate… The Michigan Center for Employee Ownership is hiring a grants and financial specialist… The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency will host its one-day homeownership conference, Wednesday, June 18 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC.