The employees of North Portland mattress factory Sealy (in which KKR is the largest shareholder) are working with The Oregon Working Family Party in an attempt to save their jobs.

The Oregon Investment Council, one of the nation’s largest private equity investors, committed $400 million across five funds since its previous meeting, according to the meeting minutes and the council’s spokesman, James Sinks. The new commitments are the first under the council’s new chief investment officer, John Skjervem, who began the job in November.

After a year-long search, Oregon’s Treasury named John Skjervem as the chief investment officer for the state’s main pension funds, which collectively manage $74 billion in assets. Skjervem replaces Ronald Schmitz, who announced last September that he was leaving…

As one of the first public pension funds to commit to private equity, Oregon continues singing the praises of the asset class.

Parthenon Capital Partners, a Boston and San Francisco-based mid-market firm, has closed its latest fund, Parthenon Investors IV LP, with $700 million in commitments, above its initial $600 million goal.