Description
Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the 11 men, lawyers and bankers, who are responsible for the creation of Wall Street''s merger industry. It specifically concentrates on the events and personalities who dominated Wall Street during the takeover battles of the 1970s and 1980s. Lawyers Joe Flom and Marty Lipton, the godfathers of modern M&A, educated bankers on takeover laws and regulations as well as tactics. Flom and Lipton were also superlative businessmen who built their own firms to become Wall Street powerhouses. The two men drew into their orbit a circle of bankers. Felix Rohatyn, Ira Harris, Steve Friedman, Geoff Boisi, Eric Gleacher and Bruce Wasserstein were close to Lipton. Robert Greenhill and Joe Perella were close to Flom.
M&A Titans provides insight into the culture of the different investment banks and how each of the bankers influenced the firms they worked in as they became more powerful. Some such as Gleacher, Harris, Wasserstein, Perella and Greenhill clashed with the
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
The Titans xi
Remarks from Some M&A Titans and Players xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Genesis: Wall Street, Its Business and Culture 5
Chapter 2 Godfathers—Flom and Lipton 13
Chapter 3 Seducers—Harris and Rohatyn 23
Chapter 4 Systematizer—Goldman Sachs 31
Chapter 5 Originators—Morgan Stanley 43
Chapter 6 Attack or Defend 53
Chapter 7 An Accountant, Feuds, and the Wasserstein Discovery 67
Chapter 8 The Cult of Greenhill, California 85
Chapter 9 Stovepipes 93
Chapter 10 Fall and Rise 103
Chapter 11 “The Genius Franchise” 111
Chapter 12 Stagnation and Implosion 119
Chapter 13 The Rise of Drexel 129
Chapter 14 Crime and Punishment 139
Chapter 15 A Voice in the Wilderness 151
Chapter 16 Intrigue and Resignations 159
Chapter 17 New Horizons 171
Notes 183
References 211
About the Author 215
Index 217
