From the Inside Flap
While deal making has always been a part of business and finance, it wasn't until the last twenty-five years of the twentieth century that terms like “merger departments” and “takeover specialists” began to appear. During this time, determined group of bankers and lawyers discovered that advising on takeovers could be lucrative for their firms. The M&A transactions that had started with the “conglomerate builders” of the late 1950s and 1960s continued to evolve as these influential figures began shaping this industry through their incredible influence and keen insights.
Now, in M&A Titans, financial journalists Brett Cole offers you a rare look inside the world of mergers and acquisitions by deconstructing some of Wall Street's most important players within this field and discussing what drove them, how they won deals, lost others, and battled to overcome insurmountable odds. Through in-depth interviews and extensive research, Cole skillfully introduces you to the institutions and individuals that paved the way for modern M&A.
These pioneers of M&A include the godfathers of the industry—lawyers Joe Flom and Marty Lipton—who taught the industry's leading bankers, such as Felix Rohatyn, Ira Harris, Bob Greenhill, Steve Friedman, Geoff Boisi, Joe Perella, Bruce Wasserstein, and Eric Gleacher how to strategize and advise. Also profiled is Michael Milken, whose unparalleled success in high-yield bonds fueled the takeover boom of the 1980s and the ensuing popularity of leveraged buyouts.
Page by page, you'll discover what events shaped the early years of the merger industry's titans, how they got their start on Wall Street, and the battles they fought inside their firms as they pushed to have takeovers considered a business amid skepticism from colleagues. Later, as the merger business became highly profitable and won extensive press coverage, a clash of egos forced some to leave the firms they started their careers at and to establish their very own merger advisory boutiques.
The business of mergers and acquisitions has been both glorified and vilified over the years. Its impact on the field of business and finance, however, is undeniable. M&A Titans take you on a detailed tour of this dynamic industry and puts the players who built this profession in perspective.
From the Back Cover
Praise for M&A TITANS“Brett Cole's book M&A Titans is an interesting and informative read, both for insiders in the M&A world as well as those just curious to know something more about this intersection of finance, law, and business. Having done deals, some successful, some not, with all eleven, I can say that, in my judgment, he accurately and objectively catches their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and many of their most challenging experiences.”
—Sam Butler, retired presiding partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
“There are few books that explain the investment banking world. This is one of the best. The deals and personal lives of the M&A bankers reads like an exciting novel.”
—Sandy Robertson, founding partner of Francisco Partners, and founder and former chairman of Robertson, Stephens & Co.
“A fascinating description of the talented, driven, and obsessive individuals who created what has become the current mergers and acquisition infrastructure in the United States and abroad.”
—Steve Waters, Managing Partner of Compass Advisors, and former cohead of merger departments at Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley
“M&A Titans is an engrossing history of the most prominent M&A practitioners. Pithy, full of stories and insights, it is an entertaining account of Wall Street’s deal making worlds.”
—Bill Hambrecht, cofounder of Hambrecht & Quist, and founder and chairman of WR Hambrecht + Co.
