Friday, June 1, 2007

Evercore aims to make bigger splash

Boutique investment bank Evercore Partners really wants to make a splash in the deal world. Evercore's co-chairman and co-CEO Roger Altman says the bank aims to hire about 10 more senior bankers this year, bankers of the big-name variety. That's a lot for a firm that has just 16 such "producing partners" on its roster currently. The latest hire was a big one: Mark Vander Ploeg, a veteran of Merrill Lynch, where he was vice chairman and co-head of consumer, retail, gaming, leisure and transportation. There are rumors that Evercore is pursuing George Young, a star telecom banker who left Lehman Brothers earlier this year. I'm sure the firm is handing out lots of equity. The bank is also betting there's a lot of legs left in the current deal rally. We'll likely see more big announcements.

Our take on this news: Evercore is one of the few companies that have the right idea. Find proven "producing partners" who have the ability to distinguish itself from trying to be something there not. Giving out equity of the firm is the right incentive to qualified and competent personal.

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