Betsy DeVos discloses millions of dollars in private financial transactions
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Education Secretary Elisabeth "Betsy" DeVos unveiled millions of dollars this week in financial transactions in non-listed companies.
DeVos sold an investment in food distributor KeHE Distributors worth more than $ 1 million, investing more than $ 1 million in a medical vendor unit known as PD DV, and investing an additional $ 50.00 to $ 100,000 into the delivery company Deliv. Specific values are not required for disclosure, only areas. She submitted a transaction form in May to the US Government Ethics Office on June 5. The submission received a third and final regulatory approval on 22 July. After that, it was publicly posted on the OGE website.
DeVos didn & # 39; Don't respond to a request for comment on the transactions.
KeHE, from Naperville, Ill., Is a distributor of organic and specialized foods that has a B Corporation certification, indicating environmental and social awareness. At the end of 2017, DeVo's investment in KeHE was valued at more than $ 1 million, and she received $ 550,000 in distribution revenue from the company that year.
Her sale of KeHE investments was May 16. The following day, Towerbrook Capital Partners announced that it had invested in KeHE, "replaced a long-standing minority shareholder." Towerbrook noted that it is the first mainstream private equity company to earn a B Corporation certification. KeHE's own brands include Cadia and Made With.
KeHE did not respond to a DeVos & # 39; comment comment request.
PD DV is in business "[m] and manufactures and distributes laboratory products and medical equipment. "DeVos, which made the investment on May 23, has not previously announced investments in a company with that name. Barrons could not reach PD DV for comment.
Devo's latest investment in Deliv, made May 10, was her third revealed investment in the company since late 2017, when she owned an investment in the same day shipping company valued at $ 500.001 to $ 1 million. She invested another $ 250.001 to $ 500,000 in the company on May 30, 2018, and another $ 50.001 to $ 100,000 on May 10, 2019.
Wall Street Journal noted that Menlo Park, California-based Deliv had raised $ 40 million in investment in October 2018. Deliv's investors include
General Motors (GM)
subsidiary GM Ventures and
United Parcel Service
(UPS).
Deliv did not respond to a request for comment on Devo's extra investment.
Inside Scoop is a common Barron feature that covers stock transactions by business executives and board members – so-called insiders – as well as major shareholders, politicians and other prominent people. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trading with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.
