Wasserstein Perella & Co., sometimes referred to as "Wasserella", was a
boutique investment bank
A boutique investment bank is a investment bank that specializes in at least one aspect of investment banking, generally corporate finance, although some banks strengths are retail in nature, such as Charles Schwab. Of those involved in corporate ...
established by
Bruce Wasserstein
Bruce Jay Wasserstein (December 25, 1947 – October 14, 2009) was an American investment banker, businessman, and writer. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and spe ...
,
Joseph R. Perella,
Bill Lambert, and Charles Ward in 1988, former bankers at
First Boston Corp. : ''For the company after its acquisition by Credit Suisse, see Credit Suisse First Boston (known as CSFB and CS First Boston)''
The First Boston Corporation was a New York-based bulge bracket investment bank, founded in 1932 and acquired by Cred ...
, until its eventual sale to
Dresdner Bank
Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009.
History
19th century
The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...
in 2000 for some $1.4 billion in stock. The
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
business of the investment firm was not included in the sale and was to be sold off to existing Wasserstein shareholders.
History
In a 2007 ''New York Times'' article, Perella was described as "one of the financial industry’s sharpest recruiters" who "discovered and helped train" Wasserstein Perella. Then, in the 1980s at First Boston, and at Wasserstein Perella after 1988, together they helped create "a dynasty of bankers and executives that has spread throughout Wall Street and corporate America".
They included
Robert S. Wiesenthal
Robert (Rob) S. Wiesenthal (born June 22, 1967) is an American businessman.
Until June 2012, Wiesenthal was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sony Corporation of America, executive vice president, chief strategy officer, Son ...
who became chairman of
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
; Jeffrey A. Rosen, vice chairman at
Lazard
Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's lar ...
; Raymond J. McGuire of
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
; Douglas L. Braunstein of
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
;
Ronald Kramer, former President of
Wynn Resorts
Wynn or wyn (; also spelled wen, ƿynn, and ƿen) is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound .
History The letter "W"
While the earliest Old English texts represent this phoneme with the digraph , ...
and current CEO of
Griffon Corporation
Griffon Corporation is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in New York City. The company conducts its operations through five subsidiaries: The AMES Companies, ClosetMaid, Clopay Building Products, CornellCookson, and Telephonics Corp ...
; Michael B. Kraines of
Sandler O'Neill; John H. Simpson, formerly
Canyon Partners, now Broadhaven LLC; Robert Pruzan, founder of
Centerview Partners
Centerview Partners is an American independent investment banking firm. Centerview operates primarily as an investment banking
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that c ...
;
Deborah C. Wright of
Carver Federal Savings Bank
Carver Federal Savings Bank, opened under the leadership of M. Moran Weston in 1948, is the "largest black-owned financial institution" in the United States. Carver Bancorp, Inc. is its holding company.
The bank has been designated by the U.S. ...
; Gail Zauder of
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...
; current ABC News contributor, former mayor of Chicago and former chief of staff for President Obama
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
; Howard Kerzner, hotel tycoon and son of
Sol Kerzner
Solomon Kerzner, (23 August 1935 – 21 March 2020) was a South African accountant and business magnate. He founded both of South Africa's largest hotel groups, the Southern Sun Hotel Group and Sun International. He was also the Founder, Chai ...
; Jon B. Kutler, founder of
Quarterdeck Investment Partners, Inc., now with Admiralty Partners, Inc.; Michael J. Biondi, investment banking chair at
Lazard
Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's lar ...
, nicknamed Mr. Judgement;
Gary Parr at Lazard;
Hugh "Skip" McGee III
Hugh E. "Skip" McGee III (born 1959) is an American investment banker who was formerly a senior executive at Lehman Brothers and Barclays. He is presently co-founder and chief executive officer of Intrepid Financial Partners, a power and energy f ...
, former head of Lehman's investment banking, now at
Barclays
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
; Mark G. Shafir, former global co-head of M&A at Lehman Brothers, now with Citigroup;
Walid Chammah, former CEO of Barclays International; Veritas Capital's
Robert B. McKeon; and others.
[ One First Boston analyst, ]Paul Mecurio
Paul Mecurio (born Paul Mercurio) is a comedian, actor, writer and producer. Mecurio has dozens of TV and film appearances and has won an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award. A lawyer by education, Mecurio worked as an investment banker and mergers ...
, left corporate life to become a comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
.[
Perella left the firm for ]Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
in 1993. Wasserstein stayed through the 2001 takeover by Dresdner Bank
Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009.
History
19th century
The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...
, but left the firm in 2002, following the 2001 merger of Dresdner and Allianz
Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management.
The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...
, to head investment bank Lazard, until his unexpected death in 2009. The investment banking business of Dresdner Bank changed its name to Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
Kleinwort Hambros is a private bank owned by Société Générale that offers financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Kleinwort Hambros focuses on private banking, providing a range of services for high ...
as a result of the deal. In 2006, four years after Wasserstein's departure, it dropped Wasserstein's name.
Mergers
In 2000, Wasserstein Perella ranked fifth in the U.S. as an adviser on mergers and acquisitions.
Wasserstein Perella advised Axa
Axa S.A. (styled as ''AXA'' or GIG in the Middle East) is a French multinational insurance company. The head office is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. It also provides investment management and other financial services.
The Ax ...
Financial in the $11.5 billion sale of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette to Credit Suisse First Boston
Credit Suisse First Boston (also known as CSFB and CS First Boston) is the investment banking affiliate of Credit Suisse headquartered in New York.
The company was created by the merger of First Boston, First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse, ...
in 2000, Philip Morris in its $14.9 billion acquisition of Nabisco Holdings Corp. and Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
in its $128 billion merger with America Online
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
.
Other deals include the $25 billion merger of Swiss Bank Corp and UBS
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
and the $10 billion merger of Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
& Co. and Dean Witter Discover & Co.
References
External links
Bruce Wasserstein, Chairman and CEO of Wasserstein Perella
Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasserstein Perella and Co.
Defunct financial services companies of the United States
Financial services companies established in 1988
Banks established in 1988
Financial services companies disestablished in 2000
Banks disestablished in 2000
2000 mergers and acquisitions
Former investment banks of the United States