Milwaukee-based The Dohmen Co. announced today the launch of a new public benefit corporation, Dohmen Constellations.
The newest subsidiary in The Dohmen Co. portfolio of life sciences and health industry companies is Wisconsin’s first benefit corporation, following newly-enacted state legislation that’s paved the way for the new category of corporation. Designed as a way to pair profit-making with social consciousness, benefit corporations are for-profit entities that seek to create a “general public benefit.”
Dohmen Constellations, located at 215 Water St. in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, will focus on closing the health equity gap through social business investment. The company said it will invest in “a portfolio of businesses whose primary purpose is to create a social return on investment while also being self-sustainable.”
“This means Dohmen Constellations will not only focus on traditional metrics like the financial performance of its businesses, but it will also aim to reverse the growing trend of economic inequity by shifting profits from shareholders to its employees,” the company said in an announcement Wednesday.
Representatives with the Dohmen Co. declined to provide more information about the new company on Wednesday.
The Dohmen Co. pushed for the creation of public benefit corporation legislation in Wisconsin, which Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law in November. At that time, Wisconsin became the 34th state to enact such legislation.
“For over a year we’ve championed legislative efforts to make this legal status available to companies in Wisconsin, so we’re thrilled to be Wisconsin’s first benefit corporation,” said Cynthia LaConte, chief executive officer of The Dohmen Company. “Dohmen Constellations is reimagining business as a catalyst to build healthy communities, and our B-Corp status tells the world this isn’t a byproduct of our work, it’s the reason we exist.”
The Dohmen Co. has three other entities under its umbrella: health care innovation investment arm Dohmen Investment Group, health care nonprofit Dohmen Company Foundation and health care technology platform developer Red Arrow.
The Dohmen Co. announced last week that it has agreed to sell its Dohmen Life Science Services business to Chicago-based Water Street Healthcare Partners and New York City-based JLL Partners.
