Former Mass. governor joins Mitt Romney's old firm, Bain Capital

BOSTON, April 14 (UPI) -- Former Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, has joined Boston private equity firm Bain Capital, to lead a new unit that will focus on "social impact" investing to support causes ranging from world hunger to climate change.

Patrick, a Democrat who led the state of Massachusetts for two terms, will be joining the firm co-founded by Mitt Romney, the unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate who preceded Patrick as Massachusetts governor.

Patrick, 58, has long been viewed as a possible presidential candidate, but he instead returned to the private sector after completing his tenure as governor in January.

"It was a happy and timely coincidence I was interested in building a business that Bain was also interested in building," Patrick told The Wall Street Journal.

Bain is one of the biggest private equity firms, with about $65 billion in assets under management. At Bain, Patrick will be expected to raise money for a new fund that will not only have a positive social impact but also a positive investment performance.