Hovnanian was the largest position in GSOs flagship hedge fund in 2012, and the firm made 50 percent on its capital in six months. The firm had purchased a small CLO group, run by Daniel Smith, from Royal Bank of Canada. Previously, he served as an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company in the Financial Services Group. degree in Business Administration from Western New England University with a concentration in finance. But the $1billion price tag the proceeds of which the partners rolled over into GSO funds and the potential to take advantage of what they thought would be a huge shift on Wall Street helped alleviate their concerns. I fell for it hook, line and sinker, says Goodman. GSO and Blackstone announced the deal in January 2008. Previously, Mr. OKeefe worked at S&P Capital IQ Leveraged Commentary & Data Group where he was responsible for research on leveraged loans and high yield bonds. Wasserstein Home | 848 followers on LinkedIn. Prior to founding Alta Semper, Afsane spent nearly five years with the Duet Group as the Managing Director of the firms African Private Equity platform, investing nearly US$200m across Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to founding DC Capital in 2007, Mr. Campbell was a Partner of Veritas Capital Management, LLC from 1992 through 2006 having been a Co-Founder of The Veritas Capital Fund, L.P. and one of the two Managing Members of the successor fund, The Veritas Capital Fund II, L.P. Afsane Jetha co-founded Alta Semper Capital in 2015. In contrast, GSO will take a minority stake, a seat on the board and a debtlike investment that pays a big double-digit coupon, but it will let management retain control. Portfolio, This content is from: "It's all family, every aspect of this place," Mr. Moss, who has edited New York since 2004, said in an interview last week at . But in June 2004, John Mack, then CEO of CSFB in the U.S., announced he was leaving; the Credit Suisse board had decided not to renew his contract. (5) Wasserstein. Other deals include the $25 billion merger of Swiss Bank Corp and UBS and the $10 billion merger of Morgan Stanley & Co. and Dean Witter Discover & Co.[10], "One of the Best Recruiters in the Neighborhood", "Michael J. Biondi, Banker and Deal Maker, Dies at 50", "Directors and Executive Officers of Lazard", "Investment banking: Walking away from Wall Street", Bruce Wasserstein, Chairman and CEO of Wasserstein Perella, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wasserstein_Perella_%26_Co.&oldid=1093705238, This page was last edited on 18 June 2022, at 09:47. In one of the largest B2B media transactions this year, Northstar Travel Group, which provides a broad array of products in the retail and corporate events markets, was sold from one private-equity firmthe Wicks Groupto another, Wasserstein Partners, Northstar CEO Thomas Kemp said today. She previously served as Partner at Wall Street Technology Partners LP and Director of the Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Private Equity Group. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) operates as the investment banking arm of Germany's Dresdner Bank AG. No one has represented Blackstones opulence more than its billionaire co-founder Schwarzman, who in 2000 reportedly paid $37million for a 34-room triplex on Park Avenue and has owned vacation properties in the Hamptons; Jamaica; Palm Beach, Florida; and Saint-Tropez. Rescue lending has returned an annualized 15.2 percent since inception in September 2009. Wasserstein & Co. is an independent private equity and investment firm, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. The Team. GSO put about $5billion of capital to work as the markets slid after the downgrade. Prior to joining Alta Semper, Ahmed was a Director at CI Capital Investment Banking, a leading Cairo-based investment bank, where he sourced, led and executed several capital markets and M&A transactions. In September 1988 the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Drexel for insider trading and stock manipulation. The group has products that do better in different market environments, such as its closed-end funds and a new exchange-traded fund it recently launched with State Street Global Advisors. Jason New, a onetime bankruptcy lawyer who had been with DLJ since 1999 and worked on some of the most complex distressed deals, such as financing Level 3 Communications and Qwest Communications, joined GSO at the start. In August the group put up $1billion in equity to buy a portfolio of busted bridge loans from Deutsche Bank, with the German bank providing 3-to-1 leverage. Any deal would hinge on James, who was revered by GSOs three founders. The honeymoon was over quickly, though. Since 2008, Blackstone has more than doubled its assets. EagleTree seeks to improve diversity and inclusion within the Firm, across its portfolio company investments and in the private equity industry, where possible. Alice Katwan on Linkedin. Prior to that time he was a Senior and Founding Member of the Merchant Banking Group of Wasserstein & Perella Co., Inc. since its inception in 1988. Goodman had never heard of the firm, but he distinctly remembers Frederick Joseph, Drexels CEO, passionately recounting how it financed entrepreneurs, married capital to ideas and was profoundly transforming whole industries. The day in early 1983 that the three firms sent recruiters to the campus, Bennett Goodman was playing basketball; when the game went into overtime, he arrived too late to get into the crowded blue-chip presentations. Private equity is composed of funds and investors that directly invest in private companies , or that engage in buyouts of public . Mr. McLellan joined Wasserstein Debt Opportunities Management, LP in 2017 as a Managing Director. EagleTree continues to maintain policies and procedures that prohibit bribery and other illegal payments to public officials consistent with U.S. federal and state laws, and in an effort to protect our systems, networks, programs, devices and data from cyber-attacks, has implemented a robust cyber-security framework. As the market comes down, we put out a lot. If Drexel came up with the junk bond and DLJ created the institutional leveraged-finance market, GSO is again reinventing the concept of providing capital to non-investment-grade companies this time as an asset manager. In 2008, Mr. Parsons served as a member of then-President-Elect Barack Obamas Economic Transition Team. Before joining Wasserstein Debt Opportunities Management, LP, Mr. McLellan was a Senior Vice President at Sheffield Asset Management, LLC (Sheffield), a Chicago-based fund with a contrarian value orientation.While working at Sheffield from 2010 2016, Mr. McLellan led many of the largest positions analyzing long/short equity and credit investments. Work with portfolio companies to integrate sustainability considerations into their business plans, as applicable. Ostrover asserted that not only would the market react positively to the initial financing but that the GSO-Blackstone brand would signal that there could be more behind it. At its peak, GSO had $475million in hedge fund exposure to homebuilders and related industries and put out $600 million in financing across private market vehicles. View full details. Updated June 5, 2014, 1:21 p.m. | An investor consortium led by Wasserstein & Company announced on Wednesday that it bought back ALM Media, which publishes The American Laywer and other titles, from its current owners, Apax Partners and the Royal Bank of Scotland.. Business Video. Leveraged loans offer a hedge against interest rates and can augment a largely xed-rate portfolio. Blackstone Groups GSO Capital: Lenders of Last Resort. As a consequence, banks want to syndicate risk into the market put together a road show and talk to 200 investors. GSO and Blackstone actively share information. He is a CFA charterholder. Venture Capital. He also has experience as an investment banker at New York boutique Wasserstein . In 1992, Goodman hired Ostrover from Grantchester Securities, the high-yield arm of boutique investment bank Wasserstein Perella & Co., to run DLJs sales and trading. He was appointed Chief Compliance Officer in January 2017. EagleTrees ESG initiatives will be overseen by its ESG Committee, which includes EagleTrees two Co-Managing Partners and other members of senior management. Prior to Emerging Capital Partners, Zachary was an M&A Executive at SABMiller and worked on beverage related transactions in South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Tanzania. Summarize the positive impact that our integration of ESG initiatives had on the portfolio companys business and/or culture. The world had changed, and the firm needed a partner. This Policy is intended to provide a broad framework for EagleTrees overall approach to ESG. Mid-market firm Wasserstein & Co. has closed its latest flagship fund, Wasserstein Partners IV, on $790 million, according to a source familiar with the matter. Private equity is a financing method that facilitates companies to acquire direct investments from PE firms for a long-term without adopting the traditional ways of fundraising such as public listing or business loans. He also serves on, and was formerly Chairman, of the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management and is on the Board of the Cate School. They have a zealous approach to protecting capital, and theyve found a way to extend credit to organizations that need it and structure it in a way that takes advantage of the environment at the time, says Blackstone chairman, CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman. Jones received his MBA from the Yale School of Management and his B.S. Victoria has worked with, and made investments in a broad range of companies, including enterprise software, wireless technologies, medical devices . Garrett Moran, who ran the high-yield bond group at DLJ, says Goodman stalked him for six months, wanting to pitch his idea for a capital markets desk. Only logged in subscribers of this site will be able to access the shared article. After about a year of fundraising, commitments from existing LPs reached $790m, surpassing the original $750m target. Ahmed joined Alta Semper in 2018 as a Director. Mr. Bagaria joined Apollo as a Principal in June 2004, two months after AIC held its initial public offering, and later was promoted to Partner. On the strength of that bridge loan business, we built ourselves up into the leading firm, says James. The firm seeks to create differentiated high yield exposure through primarily private equity backed, US non-large cap high yield issues, where WDO sees potential for price . Afsane speaks Gujarati and French and is fourth-generation Tanzanian. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities - Canada, ULC is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada. Mr. McLellan was hired by Mr. Bagaria and initially worked within AIC from 2004 2006 before moving into the Strategic Value Fund. Drexel was a place where analysts spent days buried in the dense financials of dicey companies. We, on the other hand, want to own the risk.. But things are changing much more slowly in Europe than they did in the U.S. Every European country has its own business climate, union rules and regulatory system, and bankruptcy law isnt always clear enough for a manager like GSO to get the assurance it needs to invest in a troubled company. After six months of negotiations, Goodman and his partners said yes. Russias War On Ukraine: Daily News And Information From Ukraine, Bayern Munich Remain First But Must Switch Off Complacency Ahead Of PSG Fixture, More Ex-British Challenger 2 Tanks Are Bound For Ukraine As London Doubles Its Pledge, This African Country Of Millions Is Without PowerHeres What We Know, REI Workers In Cleveland Vote To Join The Retail, Wholesale And Department Store Union, What It Took To Bring Daisy Jones And The Six To TV, Texas GOP Censures Rep. Gonzales For Supporting Same-Sex Marriage And Gun Safety, New England Patriots Reportedly Set To Release Brian Hoyer, Leaving Two In The Quarterback Room, Salesforce Gapped Higher On Better-Than-Expected Earnings. Prior to that, he worked for 14 years in Senior Hedge Fund operations positions for top tier firms, including IFS State Street and HSBC. Morants agent denied previous allegations he hit and flashed his gun at a teenager suggesting they were made to tarnish his reputation. The breadth and scale of its funds allow it to offer a range of solutions to companies, including rescue financing and senior secured bank loans. I dont feel like Im going to get my throat ripped out when I call GSO, says one CEO who has done multiple deals with the company. 1 and having a big firm behind them. Wasserstein, who was immortalized in a 1989 Forbes cover story that cemented his infamous nickname, had a passion for the media, having interned at Forbes during his student years in 1969. Prior to that, he held various positions in state and federal government, as counsel for Nelson Rockefeller and as a senior White House aide under President Gerald Ford. Convene 117 West 46th Street, New York, May 23-24, 2023 Among his extensive experience in advising local and international clients on cutting-edge M&A transactions, Ibrahim advised Alta Semper on its acquisition of Macro Group (Egypt) and ODM (Morocco). We target businesses across a broad range of media and business services subsectors, including: B2B, enthusiast, digital and consumer media; trade shows and conferences; marketing and content services, education; and outsourced services. He is credited with the term, Pac-Man defense, which is used by . Ostrover, now 50, who helped build the leveraged-finance business at investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette during the 1990s, explained his idea for solving Hovnanians liquidity problems. Our close-knit team shares 70 years of combined specialist experience gained at leading private equity and investment firms. Earlier in his career, Ahmed worked with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, in Cairo, advising government-owned enterprises in the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa on public-private partnerships (PPP). 1185 Avenue of the Americas, 39thFloor 1999 Avenue of the Stars Suite 2840 Los Angeles, CA 90067United States, 1301 Avenue of the Americas 41st FloorNew York, NYUnited States. Legacy ABOUT WASSERSTEIN. Look, the market hates your company, he told Hovnanian. She previously served as Partner at Wall Street Technology Partners LP and Director of the Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Private Equity Group. The future looks bright for credit investing. Mr. Kelsey earned a B.S. PETER A. WEINBERG In 2008, Blackstone, looking to diversify, paid $1billion to acquire GSO, which then had a $3.2billion credit hedge fund, $500million in mezzanine investments and a $4.8billion collateralized loan obligation business. PWP provides financial and structuring advice in connection with capital raising alternatives, including debt, equity, and hybrid capital, identifying alternative sources of growth capital, including SPACs and private capital, and assisting with identifying investors, developing terms and structuring the transaction. He was appointed Chief Compliance Officer in January 2017. Mr. Jones is currently Chairman of Wasserstein & Co. The firm was formed in January 2001, when the merchant banking group of Wasserstein Perella & Co., Inc., a global investment banking firm, spun out to become an independent firm upon the acquisition of the remainder of Wasserstein Perella by Dresdner Bank. Wasserstein & Co. www.wasserco.com 1999 Avenue of the Stars Suite 2840 Los Angeles, CA 90067-6086 Anup Bagaria Vice Chairman and Managing Director Prior to joining Alta Semper, she was an Associate at Cordiant Capital, an emerging markets fund manager based in Montreal, where she conducted financial analysis and due diligence, worked on structuring and executing direct lending deals in TMT (Technology, Media & Telecom), Structured Trade Finance and Specialty Financial Services in EMEA, Latin America and Southeast Asia. ("TCP"), have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Globecomm from a New York-based private equity firm. Ahmed speaks English and Arabic and is based between Cairo and London. Annual high-yield issuance is more than double what it was in 2006 and 2007, 61 percent of bonds are trading at or above their call prices, and new issuance of covenant-lite leveraged loans in 2012 surpassed the levels seen during the credit craze in the middle of the past decade. Its a different kind of satisfaction walking into the CIOs office for the Bass brothers.. From 2002 2004, Mr. McLellan worked as an analyst for Deutsche Bank focusing on Mergers & Acquisitions and Media Investment Banking. Key Takeaways. Terms & Conditions. Blackstones offices on Park Avenue are nothing short of glitzy, with unobstructed views of the New York skyline and floors connected by grand staircases with polished metal banisters. The strategy of Alta Semper is to invest flexible and strategic capital into market-leading business models in the . This is bolstered by our expert shareholder base, which brings experienced strategic and operating partners to our transactions and best-in-class management teams. 2023 Forbes Media LLC. It was the first of many overtures Blackstones executives would make to him. The private equity business of the investment firm was not included in the sale and was . Though DLJ investment banking staffers left in droves after the deal including James, though he stayed two years as part of the merger agreement Goodman, Smith and Ostrover flourished. In 2007, Merrill Lynch & Co. took a minority stake in GSO and the firm had its first closing for a new mezzanine fund. Our team consists of exceptional individuals who, through collaboration and sharing of diverse perspectives and experiences, formulate unique solutions to help our clients address complex strategic and financial challenges. Contribute to the database and get 1 month free* Full online access! Before joining Time Warner, in 1995, Mr. Parsons was Chairman and CEO of Dime Bancorp, Inc., one of the largest thrift institutions in the United States. Goodman states the obvious: No company does business with us because were such nice guys, though we like to think we are. Harvard labor economist Claudia Goldin summarises the distance we've travelled over the past hundred years, in a kind of Five Ages of Women. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Afsane is tiedpe - Afsane Jetha @afsanejetha While our focus is primarily on control equity investments, we have invested successfully across the entire capital structure spectrum, taking positions in preferred stock and various debt securities with compelling risk / return profiles. The firm follows in the footsteps of Drexel and Michael Milken, who in the 1980s invented the junk bond market for non-investment-grade companies. Mr. OKeefe earned a B.S. Salesforce beat earnings-per-share estimates after the closing bell on March 1, 2023. Mr. Bagaria was a board director of LVI Services, Inc., Generation Brands and Playpower, Inc. During the most recent recession, Mr. Bagaria was a manager of a multi-billion dollar senior loan vehicle. *SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 2 WORKING DAYS SUPER BRIGHT LIGHT - Over 2000 lumens of light will enhance your camera's vision in low-light conditions and allow. In 2015, EagleTree spun out of Wasserstein & Co, which was formed in January 2001, when the merchant banking group of Wasserstein Perella became an independent firm. Mr. McLellan began his career in direct investing in 2004. Two years out of the University of Notre Dame, he witnessed firsthand the toll Drexels failure took on senior managers whose wealth had been tied up in its stock.