(Though the hedge fund was launched in 2005, GSO has since stripped out mezzanine and other investments into separate funds.) Wasserstein Debt Opportunities Management, LP (WDO) is a New York-based SEC-registered investment advisor focused predominately on leveraged loans and high yield bonds. A link has been emailed to you - check your inbox. Wasserstein controlled Wasserstein & Co., a private equity firm with investments in a number of industries, particularly media. He began his business career in 1980 as a staff accountant at Coopers and Lybrand where he advanced to the position of tax manager, CPA, before his departure. Mr. Bagaria is the Advisors President and Chief Investment Officer. Never satisfied with his intense day job, Bruce's private equity firm Wasserstein & Co. holds stakes in the popular New York magazine, and the delicious Harry & David gift basket retailer, among . a private-equity-owned . Afsane Jetha - Gaining Additional Experience. Part of GSOs success comes from leaving some money on the table. The company offers its corporate, government, and institutional clients a variety of capital markets products and services, including short-term products and treasury, equity products, rates, credit products, foreign exchange debt origination, sales and marketing, research, risk . But, as Smith says, its also a great place to lose money. 1185 Avenue of the Americas Amid the froth GSO is now doing its preparatory work for the next crisis. About Wasserstein & Co. Wasserstein & Co. is a leading independent private equity and investment firm, focused primarily on leveraged buyout investments and related investment activities. J.P. Morgan and other Wall Street research firms changed their rating from a sell to a hold GSO had been hoping for a buy and Credit Suisse refinanced Hovnanians high-cost debt that was coming due in 2016 and that the naysayers were sure would sink the company. After six months of negotiations, Goodman and his partners said yes. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. [8], In 2000, Wasserstein Perella ranked fifth in the U.S. as an adviser on mergers and acquisitions. GSOs flagship hedge fund takes an activist or event-driven approach to credit. Victoria serves on the board of Vostok New Ventures, an investment company with presence in Sweden. Victoria serves on the board of Vostok New Ventures, an investment company with presence in Sweden. In 1992, Goodman hired Ostrover from Grantchester Securities, the high-yield arm of boutique investment bank Wasserstein Perella & Co., to run DLJs sales and trading. In 2007, the peak for the firms performance fees, private equity contributed the bulk of the total. Thoughtful Electronics and Accessories for Smart Homes | Market leader and accessory manufacturer of smart home products such as Google Home, Nest . Terms & Conditions. Mr. Dutton earned a Masters degree in Economics from University College Dublin and a joint Honors degree in Business and Economics from Trinity College Dublin. Mr. Campbell received a B.S. She has worked for GI Partners, Merrill Lynch, Wasserstein Private Equity, and Permira in London. Because of the regulatory environment, its harder for them to do that economically. By Stephen Grocer. These initiatives and strategies include new product launches, entrance into new markets, add-on acquisitions and operational improvements. As 2008 wore on and the credit crisis gathered steam, GSO started putting money to work. The private equity business of the investment firm was not included in the sale and was . Depending on the product, GSO has a host of competitors, including Apollo Group Management; Ares Capital Corp. (an Apollo spin-out); Avenue Capital Group; Carlyle Group; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; J.P. Morgan Asset Managements Highbridge Capital Management; KKR & Co.; Oaktree Capital Management; and TPG Capital. The up-gunned, tracked MT-LBs are further evidence of the Kremlins worsening equipment crisis as it struggles to make good its losses in Ukraine. Afsane Jetha is the Co-Founder, Managing Partner & CEO of Alta Semper Capital, a private equity manager founded in 2015 alongside Ronald Lauder (Chairman of Clinique LLC) and Richard Parsons (former CEO of Time Warner). Previously, Mr. Jones was Head of West Coast Investment Banking at Wasserstein Perella and, prior to that, was Managing Director at Salomon Brothers from 1988 through 1994. Our initiatives in this regard are carried out by our Philanthropic Committee, which identifies several nonprofit charities each year with whom employees volunteer and EagleTree supports. Mr. Montana joined Wasserstein Debt Opportunities Management, LP in 2014 as a Finance Associate. Mid-market firm Wasserstein & Co. has closed its latest flagship fund, Wasserstein Partners IV, on $790 million, according to a source familiar with the matter. Goodman states the obvious: No company does business with us because were such nice guys, though we like to think we are. In the 1990s, GSOs three founders, then working for Hamilton (Tony) James at DLJ, took up where Drexel left off, building that firm into the No. I love the underdog. While his friends at Harvard including one he describes as having had pinstripes on his diapers did summer internships at Wall Streets toniest firms, Goodman took a job with Drexel. Predecessor funds, U.S. Equity Partners I and II, were raised in 1997 and 2002 and invested approximately $750 million of committed equity capital. Thoughtful Electronics and Accessories for Smart Homes | Market leader and accessory manufacturer of smart home products such as Google Home, Nest, Ring, Arlo, Echo devices among others. Two years out of the University of Notre Dame, he witnessed firsthand the toll Drexels failure took on senior managers whose wealth had been tied up in its stock. But by the end of 2009, the firm had $24billion in assets. Prior to that, he was a managing director of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Private Equity Partners and related funds, and made and managed in excess of 30 private equity and partnership investments. He also advised Meridian Investment (Russia) on the investment of its stake in TBE Egypt for Payment Solutions and Services to an affiliate of BPE Partners. Previously, Mr. OKeefe worked at S&P Capital IQ Leveraged Commentary & Data Group where he was responsible for research on leveraged loans and high yield bonds. The EagleTree Capital team is currently investing its fifth private equity fund, EagleTree Partners V, with over $1.1 billion of committed capital. Greg began his career over 19 years ago and served as a Captain and Infantry Officer in the United States Marine Corps. The ESG Committee also aims to ensure that all EagleTree employees are aware of EagleTrees culture of social responsibility and any amendments to this Policy. Jan 2003 - Mar 20052 years 3 months. Bruce Wasserstein was an American investment banker, businessman, and writer who began his career as an attorney with Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Mr. Lauder is currently the Chairman of Clinique Laboratories, a division of The Este Lauder Companies. What was a wide-open white space for us? Before that she was a Director of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Private Equity Group. Prior to founding Colle Capital, Ms. Grace was a partner at Wall Street Technology Partners LP, a mid-stage technology fund, from November 2000 to February 2014, and a director of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Private Equity Group from November 2000 to October 2004. Though DLJ investment banking staffers left in droves after the deal including James, though he stayed two years as part of the merger agreement Goodman, Smith and Ostrover flourished. Wasserstein Debt Opportunities Management, LP ("WDO") is a New York-based SEC-registered investment advisor focused predominately on leveraged loans and high yield bonds.The firm seeks to create differentiated high yield exposure through primarily private equity backed, US non-large cap high yield issues, where WDO sees potential for price inefficiency. Richard Parsons is the Former Chairman of the Board of Citigroup Inc., and former Chairman of the Board, and CEO of Time Warner. Our investment activities are focused on middle-market leveraged buyout investments and related investment activities. Mr. Jones is currently Chairman of Wasserstein & Co. GSO founders Bennett Goodman, Tripp Smith and Douglas Ostrover have become a key source of capital for non-investment-grade companies struggling to get financing, and in the process they have made a lot of money for themselves; their parent, Blackstone Group; and their investors. The firm seeks to . EagleTree has a history of charitable giving and an active Philanthropic Committee that strives to support a number of charities from both a financial and volunteer perspective. (5) Wasserstein. Goodman, Smith and Ostrover founded GSO in 2005 to provide capital to non-investment-grade cyclical companies that were going through a tough patch but had tangible assets to put up as collateral to protect the firms downside when it lent them money. In 2004, he added New York Magazine to his media empire. Incorporate detailed ESG considerations into our pre-investment decision-making process in order to better assess ESG risks and opportunities and to provide us with an initial overview of a potential portfolio companys ESG profile. *SHIPS WITHIN 1 - 2 WORKING DAYS SUPER BRIGHT LIGHT - Over 2000 lumens of light will enhance your camera's vision in low-light conditions and allow. GSO has a view on about 1,000 companies through its CLO business, garnering leads that can be passed on to the hedge fund or other vehicles. Consider whether a potential portfolio companys business aligns with EagleTrees core values. On day one Credit Suisse gave the firm more than $500million to manage a big part of the approximately $3billion it had raised from outside investors, including the Bass brothers, Blackstone, Cornell University, K2 Advisors, MetLife, Notre Dame and Quellos Group (now owned by BlackRock). The only opening that day was for Drexel, which was at the bottom of the Wall Street pecking order even as it dominated the business of financing non-investment-grade companies. They did their homework, and they were convinced that the market was underestimating our ability to succeed in a space housing that they thought was recovering, says Hovnanian. Mr. Dutton earned a Masters degree in Economics from University College Dublin and a joint Honors degree in Business and Economics from Trinity College Dublin. GSO and Blackstone actively share information. What the three founders have built at GSO, they originally planned for CSFB. Alta Semper Capital Exits Egypts Macro Group Pharmaceuticals with the Successful Conclusion of its IPO, Alta Semper considers healthcare investment opportunities in Egypt, The Head of the Egyptian Macro Group told Al-Sharq: We are studying the acquisition of a local company in 2022. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Middle East Institute and is a former Vice Chairman of the organization. This is bolstered by our expert shareholder base, which brings experienced strategic and operating partners to our transactions and best-in-class management teams. EagleTree believes that it is better positioned to address many of the issues facing our portfolio companies in a rapidly changing world when we proactively incorporate ESG considerations into our investment approach. As a result of the cumulative research among the different Blackstone groups, private equity bought $220million of nonperforming residential loans, the real estate team purchased $1.4billion of single-family homes to lease, and GSO invested in Hovnanian. Former Senior Vice President of North America Sales at Genesys. Every Monday the investment staff meets to go over ideas and review the pipeline. Mr. McLellan earned a B.S. Also, Mr. Jones served on the Board of Directors of Lazard and previously served on the Boards of Directors of Meyer Material, Odwalla, All-Clad, and IMAX, among other Wasserstein companies. Wasserstein established his reputation for orchestrating complex mergers and acquisitions at First Boston Corp., and later Wasserstein Perella & Co., an investment bank sold to Dresdner Bank in 2000 for $1.4 billion. The firm was formed in January 2001, when the merchant banking group of Wasserstein Perella & Co., Inc., a global investment banking firm, spun out to become an independent firm upon the acquisition of Wasserstein Perella by Indeed, when Hovnanian announced the land banking deal on July 13, 2012, its stock rose, its senior secured debt traded up from 84 to 97 cents on the dollar, and the price of the CDS contracts collapsed. James Coulter, co-founder of private equity firm TPG, says the opportunity is much more attractive for managers and investors now that banks which threw cheap money from depositors at troubled companies financing problems and pocketed the profit are not in the mix. The GSO team has been through the ups and downs of numerous credit cycles, and theyre always worried and trying to protect the downside, says Timothy Walsh, chief investment officer of the $74billion New Jersey Pension Fund, which has committed to $1.1billion in investments in five GSO funds. Houston-based Scott oversees GSOs energy group. He also serves on, and was formerly Chairman, of the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management and is on the Board of the Cate School. Garrett Moran, who ran the high-yield bond group at DLJ, says Goodman stalked him for six months, wanting to pitch his idea for a capital markets desk. He is a CFA charterholder. GSO was an early investor in the shale gas industry, which has been whipsawed by volatile pricing and other events. Blackstone referred Sony to GSO, which crafted a deal of mezzanine debt and equity warrants in the company. Before that she worked at Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm, where she evaluated . In 1988, Bruce established a private equity division of Wasserstein Perella & Co., called Wasserstein & Co., which he used to manage and invest his personal wealth and later, that of his family. DLJ used its market position to keep reinvesting in the firm, building a leveraged-loan capability and creating a derivatives business and large distressed unit. 99 Canal Center Plaza | Suite 400 The group has products that do better in different market environments, such as its closed-end funds and a new exchange-traded fund it recently launched with State Street Global Advisors. Mr. Bagaria began his career in the leveraged finance market in 1999. Ostrover, now 50, who helped build the leveraged-finance business at investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette during the 1990s, explained his idea for solving Hovnanians liquidity problems. GSO was very synergistic and complemented our other businesses well.. Before that she was a Director of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Private Equity Group. It wants to stay off the front pages of newspapers. Mr. Jones is currently Chairman of Wasserstein & Co. PETER A. WEINBERG After the market bottomed in 2009, GSO launched its first rescue lending fund, which closed at $3.3billion. Victoria has extensive experience in originating, structuring and monitoring venture capital transactions. When the markets rebounded in 1991, DLJ took over as a leading player. But that is likely to change as banks shed assets to deleverage and companies need capital. Prior to that, he worked for 14 years in Senior Hedge Fund operations positions for top tier firms, including IFS State Street and HSBC. PWP provides advice to management teams and Boards of Directors on critical matters that require shareholder interaction and support, including shareholder votes on transactions and annual proxy matters, as well as shareholder activism preparation and managing a company campaign in response to an attempt by an activist to gain board control or influence. Afsane speaks Gujarati and French and is fourth-generation Tanzanian. ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) POLICY, TermsofUse and Other Important Disclosure. Private equity investors are by nature optimistic and swaggering, thinking every deal is a potential blockbuster. Annual high-yield issuance is more than double what it was in 2006 and 2007, 61 percent of bonds are trading at or above their call prices, and new issuance of covenant-lite leveraged loans in 2012 surpassed the levels seen during the credit craze in the middle of the past decade. He also serves on, and was formerly Chairman, of the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management and is on the Board of the Cate School.Mr. The latest messages and market ideas from Afsane Jetha (@afsanejetha) on Stocktwits. He brings more than ten years of investment banking and private equity investing experience in the consumer, healthcare and financial services sectors across the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa. Other investments recently controlled by Mr. Campbell and for which he served as Chairman include, but are not limited to, National Interest Security Company, LLC; SC3, LLC; and International Development Solutions, LLC. More recently, he served as a member of the Presidents Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. GSO also bought the debt of Clear Channel Communications, a private-equity-owned media company, and led a $1.25billion preferred stock deal for Chesapeake Energy so that company could develop natural-gas production from shale in eastern Ohio. It was the first of many overtures Blackstones executives would make to him. He recently served on the Boards of Directors of Harry & David, Encompass Digital Media, and Access Scientific. Though investors seem to have set their concerns aside, GSO maintains that Europe poses the same risks to the global economy it always did and that rates must rise sometime in the next four years. EagleTree continues to encourage all of its employees to actively engage in nonprofit volunteer activities and giving in our communities. We love your company., (Ostrover had his own hard-luck family bankruptcy story: His grandfather had to shutter Ostrovers Smoked Fish on New Yorks Lower East Side in the 1950s following a blackout; he couldnt pay his creditors because his customers fish had rotted.). Credit Suisse bought DLJ for $11.5billion in 2000 and combined the firm with its New Yorkbased investment banking unit, Credit Suisse First Boston. Prior to joining Alta Semper, Ahmed was a Director at CI Capital Investment Banking, a leading Cairo-based investment bank, where he sourced, led and executed several capital markets and M&A transactions. 2023 Forbes Media LLC.