Andrew Nikou

Early years

Andrew Nikou was born in 1977 in Vancouver, Canada. His parents left their native Tehran before the Iranian Revolution and relocated to Canada, later moving with Nikou to California when he was four years old. His father, who majored in mathematics at a German university, worked at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Nikou grew up with a passion for trading baseball cards and competing in breakdancing competitions. Nikou graduated from William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, California, where he was active in the Persian Community. Nikou studied finance at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. After graduating, he worked for the Patent and License Exchange, a start-up financed by Softbank Capital.

Business

In 2001, Nikou began his career in private equity at Platinum Equity. At age 25, he moved to Paris to help open the firm's first European office. At Platinum Equity, he expanded the firm’s international offices in Europe. In 2004, he left Platinum Equity and moved back to Los Angeles to start his own global investment firm.

In 2005, Andrew Nikou founded OpenGate Capital with just $30,000 from his own savings. He turned to a handful of family offices for funding of his first deal. Under Nikou’s leadership, the firm has bought distressed or neglected divisions of Fortune 500 companies such as Philips, Schlumberger, Arvin Meritor, Stora Enso and Cascades (company). In 2006, OpenGate purchased OMMIC, a former division of Philips. OpenGate sold OMMIC to Egalux SA Luxembourg in 2008. A notable OpenGate Capital turnaround was an acquisition from the power company Areva. In 2013 OpenGate sold remaining interest in Models One Ltd., the European supermodel agency which represents Alessandra Ambrosio, Irina Shayk and Bar Refaeli.

More than half of OpenGate's deals to date have been cross-border transactions in North America, Europe, and Latin America.

In 2008, Nikou negotiated the deal for OpenGate Capital to acquire TV Guide for $1 and $50 million in assumed liabilities from owner Rovi Corporation (previously Macrovision). Later that year, Nikou led OpenGate Capital’s bid for McGraw-Hill Companies BusinessWeek magazine, then withdrew from the bidding. Also in 2009, OpenGate purchased children's publishers Fleurus Presse and Junior Hebdo from Groupe Le Monde. In 2010, Nikou was behind the OpenGate bid for Newsweek, owned by the Washington Post Company, but the firm did not acquire the publication. Nikou has provided his expertise on buying into the media business to various trade publications.

Nikou increased OpenGate’s pace of international acquisitions in the past three years. In 2012, OpenGate Capital acquired the Latin American operations of Getronics from the Dutch conglomerate, KPN. In 2011, the firm acquired NorPaper Avot Vallée, a specialty paper manufacturer based in France. And in 2010, OpenGate acquired Brazilian-based Philips Business Communications, since renamed Sopho, and Finland-based KotkaMills, a laminating paper and wood business. Also in 2010, Nikou led the acquisition of Nicole Farhi, a global fashion brand, from French Connection. Designer Nicole Farhi described Nikou as a “tough businessman” with whom she has “lovely rapport.”

In July 2016, OpenGate closed its first institutional fund, OpenGate Capital Partners I, at $305 million, exceeding its target of $300 million and raising about twice what the average new private equity fund does, according to Pregin. As of August 2016, OpenGate signed agreements to invest in five new investments, four of which had closed within the first six months of the year.

In November 2016 OpenGate Capital completed the acquisition of the zinc products business of the Belgian company Umicore for $150 million in debt and equity. The deal was the fifth platform investment from OpenGate’s debut fund. OpenGate rebranded the business EverZinc; within Umicore it had generated $425 million in revenue in 2015.

Purchase and plant closing of Golden Guernsey Dairy

Prior to raising its first institutional fund, OpenGate also acquired the Waukesha, Wisconsin plant and brand rights to Golden Guernsey Dairy as the result of an antitrust divestment of Dean Foods, which was required to sell the plant to purchase GGD's other plants in the state.

On January 5, 2013, Golden Guernsey ceased operations without notice in an alleged violation of the State of Wisconsin's mass layoff/shutdown regulations. The Golden Guernsey plant employed over 100 workers. Purchased Hamilton Scientific in Wisconsin and closed without notice as well.

Closing of PennySaver USA and other Companies

Mr. Nikou shut down several other companies, including PennySaver USA and Hamilton Scientific. Several lawsuits have been filed claiming OpenGate and Mr Nikou did not follow proper protocol under the WARN Act when firing hundreds of employees from both PennySaver and Hamilton Scientific.

Philanthropy

Nikou is a Board Member of the X Prize Foundation Innovation Board, holds seats on the Board of Overseers at the Hammer Museum Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Mr Nikou is also a Media Council Member at The Paley Center for Media. In 2014, it was announced that Andrew was forming a partnership with businessman, Ricardo Salinas, to bring Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra to Los Angeles through a partnership with the city's mayor, Mr. Eric Garcetti. On October 7, 2014, an official ceremony was held to celebrate the inauguration of the first Esperanza Azteca America program at the Florence Nightingale Middle School in Los Angeles. In September 2016, Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo performed at a Los Angeles benefit for Esperanza Azteca. Andrew also supports other local charities including Children Uniting Nations and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.

Personal

Nikou, who works in Los Angeles, is married with two children and divides his time between residences in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.