Decision nears on state investment report

COLUMBUS (AP) -- The state insurance fund for injured workers was expected to decide soon whether to release a report on the value of its private fund investments that investors want kept private.
Many of the firms managing those investments have contacted the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to oppose releasing the report, saying it would expose confidential financial information.
The firms have said they might consider legal action to stop the agency from releasing the report, due out Friday, by Chicago-based consultant Ennis Knupp.
The firms are worried about what the report says about their finances as well as those of the privately held companies they invest in.
While the agency is still deciding what to do, a lawyer representing many of the private funds said Tuesday he believes the workers' comp bureau is leaning toward protecting information about the privately held firms.
"That's the information that perhaps is the most sensitive and confidential of everything contained in the Ennis Knupp report," said Carl Metzger, a Boston lawyer representing private equity firms fighting the report's release.
A message was left with the bureau seeking comment.
The funds say the document could give competitors of private companies sensitive information about firms' value and financial state that wouldn't otherwise be public.
Private equity funds involve investments in companies not listed on a public stock exchange.