TheStreet.com, Internet Survivor, May Have Buyer
Maybe this whole online Wall Street thing has a future after all (hear that, honey? I smell retirement). Shares of mad money man Jim Cramer’s Internet-era online news site, TheStreet.com, have been rising in anticipation of a pending acquisition by big media. The company had brought on media-insider i-bankers Allen & Co. earlier this year to help “explore strategic alternatives” and rumor has it there’s a deal in the works. Is there anything to the buzz? “We never comment on rumors,” says CEO Tom Clarke.
The Street’s Sweet Spot [NY Post]
Is It My Breath? Merrill Turns Off Advest Brokers
Looks like Merrill may not be getting everything it bargained for in its acquisition of brokerage firm Advest: Headhunters are saying that 40% of the target firm’s 500-odd brokers are opting not to sign on with the Bull. “This is going to go down as one of the worst [attrition rates] Wall Street has seen,” said Danny Sarch, president of executive-recruiting firm Leitner Sarch Consultants. The 40% compares poorly with the standard 15% attrition rate in such deals and even worse when lined up against Citigroup’s takeover of Legg Mason Wood which lost only 8% of its brokers. Anyone know why?
Nearly 40% of Advest Brokers Leave [Wall Street Journal]
Good Times for M&A Likely to Last
According to Business Week, M&A pros are breaking out the champagne a little early this year in anticipation of their first $1 trillion year since 2000 when deal makers logged in $1.7 trillion. To date, there have been 8,115 announced deals worth a combined $948 billion, according to Thomson Financial, up from 8,454 deals worth $824 billion in 2004. The resurgence is attributed to a number of factors, including interest from Asia and stockpiles of cash at private equity firms. And the party may last. “I see no reason why the current boom should end any time soon,” says Ken Marlin, founding partner of New York-based investment bank Marlin & Associates.
M&A: Back With a Vengeance [Business Week]
Lazard Rocks 3Q Earnings, Sticks It To the Naysayers
Only months after its strong-willed CEO Bruce Wasserstein took Lazard public, the firm knocked the cover off the ball, with third quarter profits tripling to $51.7 million on strong M&A activity. The bottom line got serious help when Nextel was taken over by Sprint. The firm’s asset management business also showed healthy gains. Lazard shares jumped 13 percent on the news. Word.
Lazard 3rd Quarter Profit Triples [Bloomberg]
Lazard Profit Triples on Merger Activity [Reuters]
Lazard Net Revenue Rose 70% [Wall Street Journal]
