Paul Ryan to join Solamere Capital

Former House speaker Paul Ryan, who last year joined the rush of high-profile individuals launching special-purpose acquisition companies, is going to work at the private-equity firm he teamed up with in that effort.

Mr. Ryan will join Solamere Capital, a private-equity firm founded by Utah Sen. Mitt Romney’s son Taggart, as well as Eric Scheuermann and Spencer Zwick, as a partner. Solamere, a Boston firm with more than $1 billion in assets, seeks to invest in high-growth companies and help them expand and create jobs, he said.

He was inclined to join the firm because it takes a conservative approach to adding debt to companies in its portfolio and eschews layoffs—two things private-equity firms are typically associated with.

“For 20 years in Congress, I’ve been preaching the virtues of the free-enterprise system,” Mr. Ryan said in an interview. “The reason I’m joining Solamere is that I want to practice what I preach.”

A SPAC is an empty vehicle that raises funds and then looks for a business to buy or merge with, usually within two years. Solamere Capital was the main sponsor of Mr. Ryan’s SPAC, Executive Network Partnering Corp.

Many business magnates, celebrities and former athletes including Shaquille O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez and Colin Kaepernick have joined the SPAC frenzy. So far this year, on average, between four and five have been created during each business day.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/paul-ryan-to-join-solamere-capital