After spending years in the wilderness fighting obstruction of justice charges stemming from the investment banking excesses of the late 1990s, Silicon Valley investment banker Frank Quattrone is back. Yesterday, he launched Qatalyst Group, a boutique investment bank that will focus on technology M&A and advisory services.
As the head technology banker for Credit Suisse, and Morgan Stanley before that, Quattrone had a hand in practically every major Internet IPO during the 1990s, from Amazon to Netscape. He has one of the deepest Rolodexes the Valley. In the press release announcing his return, he squeezes a couple of supportive quotes out of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, and Facebook CFO Gideon Yu.
I suppose a general economic downturn is as good a time as any to start a boutique M&A investment bank. Perhaps he can hire some folks from Bear Stearns.
See all
Post
Silicon Valley really is a lot like Hollywood. They love you coming up, they cheer you when they reach top (no matter how you got there), they laugh when you fall, and they look at you with dewey, nostalgic eyes when you make a come-back.
wow way harsh. you had to go and bring the bear stearns folks into it.
and great call antje. its just human nature
Congrats Frank. As an alum of CSFB Tech Group who used to work with you, I say best wishes!
Hey, when old and experienced sharks get into the game - it’s a sign that there is something to go after in this game. Even after the big sharks had their lunch, there is still plenty left for the smaller fish, so expect more money to go after startups. Now it’s the Web2.money era
….”hire some guys from Bear Stearns”….you crack me up!
I like it, when you get cynic.
This is the guy who will bring back the mustache.
Unbelievable! Sad day for justice…
MikeT: P.T. Barnum comes to mind.
EH: totally agree.
This quote about P.T. is from Wikipedia: “he understood his times and profited from them brilliantly”.
That’s what we all try to do, don’t we?
I have no doubt that Quattrone can make a comeback. Look at Henry Blodget, he has redeemed himself from the old days, and so will Quattrone. He needs to keep a cleaner than clean practice, though.
This guy is so - participating in “mustache march” -
- good luck on the comeback
I am in. It should be fun
Quattrone was one of the people who f**ked-over our industry before, and criminals like him were one of the root causes of the tech bubble and bust. Only a greed-crazed moron would welcome him back. Exploiting loopholes, lying to the public, investors and most other people… If that is “understanding his times” then I guess every scumbag is a hero.
Frank and his partners are picking a great time to start their new firm and will no doubt be very successful. We started our software/internet investment bank (www.catapultadvisors.com) in the depths of the dot com implosion and have enjoyed the shift away from the big Wall Street firms to boutiques like our own.
I agree with #14
Anybody else notice….this guy looks like the skinny version of Ron Jeremy.
-Peyton
http://www.techbanyan.com