Name: A hedge fund billionaire, Stamford developers and a Chinese bank got together. They delivered millions of dollars worth of PPE to Connecticut in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
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A hedge fund billionaire, Stamford developers and a Chinese bank got together. They delivered millions of dollars worth of PPE to Connecticut in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMay 14, 2020 at 6:00 amThe path that led to nearly $15 million in personal protective equipment arriving at a New Britain warehouse this week started with Ray Dalio, the Connecticut billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, and led to the Chinese bank he works closely with, an ambassador and a couple of developers known as the “kings of the south end” in Stamford.“It was a little tricky,” Gov. Ned Lamont said as he stood in the state’s warehouse in New Britain earlier this week with boxes of masks and surgical gowns — the liquid gold of the PPE market right now — stacked behind him.AdvertisementIt was the sort of deal that has cratered for other states, who have fought over contracts for protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic. In one case, an $800 million mask deal brokered by the state of California fell apart when the supplier failed to deliver most of the product.To land this deal, Lamont turned to an old friend — Dalio — the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund who lives in the governor’s hometown of Greenwich and who has influential connections in China.Advertisement“When the market broke down and supply and demand went upside down it really became a scramble,” said Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer. “So we were fortunate that the governor has incredible relationships in the business community and people with extensive relationships in China that could help broker these deals.”State records show that the supplier of the PPE that now gives the state a 60-day supply of material is a company called BLT Management Inc. located in Stamford. The company is owned by Carl and Paul Keuhner, who employ Dalio’s son.The Keuhners, once called the “kings of the south end” in the Stamford Advocate, once lost a high-profile fight to build new offices for Bridgewater on the Stamford waterfront, using $115 million in state funds promised by then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. The offices were never built after boaters complained to city officials that a 1,000-boat marina would be sacrificed in the development.Bridgewater has remained in Westport and flourished, with an estimated $136 billion under management. It was the first American-based hedge fund allowed to open offices in China four years ago. Lamont said it was “his great friend” Dalio who used his strong relationships in China to negotiate the deal with Chinese officials. A key player in the deal was the China Construction Bank, one of the largest banks in China and the world.Neither Dalio or the Keuhners could be reached for comment.The two purchase orders for the PPE show the first order was made on April 30 and included 35,000 pairs of protective overalls and 46,000 disposable surgical gowns. It also included a $273,000 for shipping costs.A second purchase order followed on May 5 that included one million N95 masks, more than six million surgical masks and 100,000 infrared thermometers.All told the state received PPE worth slightly more than $15 million, according to the purchase orders.AdvertisementSome of it was donated, including more than $2 million in masks by the China Construction Bank, which has a relationship with Dalio. Banks are not normally considered a business to turn to when looking for N95 masks and thermometers, but in the wild-west world of procurement during a pandemic, the connection played a critical role.“It really took a while and all the different relationships that are necessary there — the Chinese Construction Bank — they made a significant donation of $2 million plus,” Lamont said at his daily press conference Tuesday.“For us to get to the front of the line with everybody trying to source PPE coming out of China, where most of the PPE comes from, took a variety of relationships," Lamont said. The consulate general, ambassador and others “were very helpful as we tried to navigate through this,” Lamont said.Lamont was referring to Ambassador Huang Ping, consul general of China’s consulate general in New York, who visited Hartford last year and met with Attorney General William Tong.Tong said in March he reached out to Ambassador Huang after he saw that he was heavily involved in assisting New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft fly a plane of PPE out of China and back to Boston.On April 2, Attorney General Tong and Governor Lamont wrote a letter to Ambassador Huang requesting formal assistance in acquiring PPE out of China.Advertisement“People were desperate. States were bidding against each other, the feds were taking it from everyone and there were stories about states waiting for orders that never showed up or were diverted elsewhere,” Tong said. “I thought if anybody could make it happen it would be the ambassador.”DailyWe're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. &gt; Tong said Huang called him earlier this week to say that Connecticut’s order was on its way. Tong said it was clear he was watching it all the way to New Britain to make sure it arrived.Lamont said that Keuhners and BLT Management were vital in getting the PPE out of China and back to the United States.“We had to work with Carl Kuehner and his daughter Lexi in terms of putting together the supply chains that gets it from the factory, through the bank, to the port, to the cargo shipping, getting them over here in this country and then getting them distributed by truck to this state,” Lamont said.Tong acknowledged negotiating deals for masks and gowns isn’t normal duty for an attorney general.“We were scrambling, so you do what you can,” Tong said.AdvertisementCourant Staff Writer Eliza Fawcett contributed to this story.Dave Altimari can be reached at . Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMay 14, 2020 at 6:00 amThe path that led to nearly $15 million in personal protective equipment arriving at a New Britain warehouse this week started with Ray Dalio, the Connecticut billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, and led to the Chinese bank he works closely with, an ambassador and a couple of developers known as the “kings of the south end” in Stamford.“It was a little tricky,” Gov. Ned Lamont said as he stood in the state’s warehouse in New Britain earlier this week with boxes of masks and surgical gowns — the liquid gold of the PPE market...

A hedge fund billionaire, Stamford developers and a Chinese bank got together. They delivered millions of dollars worth of PPE to Connecticut in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

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