CenterView Partners, one of the best independent investment banks in the world, has long been known as a largely democratic outpost. One of the leaders, Blair Effron, is one of the most influential fundraisers in democratic politics, while an old counselor is Bob Rubin, the former finance minister. Rahm Emanuel, the former Staff Chef of Obama, also worked for the company.
This week CenterView took a step that was generally seen as a counterbalance: the Revere Priebus hired, the first staff chief of the White House in the first Trump administration and a financial chairman of Trump's second inauguration committee, as a senior adviser. In other words, someone who can help the bank and her blue chip customers “speak republican” better in the Trump era.
It is not the only sturdy one that looks.
“This is a transactional administration,” said Steve Lipin, the founder of Gladstone Place Partners, on a panel at the Tulane University Corporate Law Institute, an important meeting of mergers and acquisition advisers.
He added that a new step for an increasing number of transactions is to “e -mail howard lutnick”, the financier of Wall Street who is now Trump's trade secretary.
Deal advisers have monitored their Rolodexes for connections with everyone with pull in Trumpworld. (There are limits, a recruitment director said: Although relationships are important in this administration, the goal is to find someone who has respected – but not “te Maga”.)
These new recruitments underline how much the company of mergers and acquisitions has evolved beyond the advice on capital structures and ratings. Clients increasingly want to know how to navigate a worldwide landscape with military conflicts, commercial fights, oil forces and political revolutions.
The latest challenge is a second Trump administration that openly injects cultural war reasons in regulation, including antitrust approval. A good example: the family business Trump has sued Capital One and accused the lender of being “awake” and for political reasons “debit” – because the bank seeks approval for his $ 35 billion takeover of Discover Financial. (CenterView advises Capital One.)
Public relationship professionals are assumed to resolve the landscape for a transaction, and in some cases to help call or bend the ears of legislators or regulatory officials.
Some business advisory companies have also adopted managers in the Priebus form. This year the Brunswick Group, a financial communication company, hired Jim Bognet, an officer in the first Trump administration. (It has also adopted Kate Beetingsfield, a communication director of the White House under Joe Biden.)
Others build teams to give expertise and advice about operating in Washington and beyond:
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In January, JPMorgan Chase said that it had created a geopolitical advisory group that was intended to bring research and experts for customers together. The lead of his efforts are Derek Chollet, a former staff chef of Lloyd Austin, the Minister of Defense of Biden, and Lisa Sawyer, who did Stints in the administrations of Biden and Obama.
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In 2023, Goldman Sachs announced the creation of a similar offer, the Goldman Sachs Global Institute. The group is led by George Lee, an old deal maker, and Jared Cohen, the president of Global Affairs and the founder of Google's Jigsaw Tech Research and Incubator Unit.
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The year before Lazard created his geopolitical advisory unit, a 12-person team that also as advisers William Mcraven, the former Navy Admiral, who supervised the invasion of Osama bin Ladin and John Abizaid, a former general who ordered the American troops in the Middle East. The recent projects for customers included gaming escalations of the China-Taiwan conflict and modeling potential Trump rate situations.
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About three to four years ago, Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, insisted on the establishment of a similar team. It is based on both internal research and expertise of government affairs and external resources to help customers advise on the bank about matters in Washington and abroad.
Managers at many Wall Street companies emphasized that, although such teams are often filled with former government officials, they are not formal lobbyists and concentrate on the advice of the episode instead of beating doors in Capitol Hill.
The need to open doors in Washington is not new. Consider Moelis & Company who hires Eric Cantor, the former leader of the Republican House Majority, in 2014, or Lazard who hires Vernon Jordan, the near clinton with a voluminous address book, in 2000, and other banks are known to have many times in the government, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, WAMEN, NAMNAMEN. “Government matters”.
But in an era of the shifting of diplomatic alliances, unexpected conflicts and an unpredictable US government, advisers can explain how to approach how Washington and other geopolitical flash points are more important than ever.
“There is currently a lack of predictability,” said Scott Barhay, a prominent dealer and partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, at the Tulane conference. The policy of the administration is still being resolved. Our customers are not sure what the future looks like in the short term. “
– Michael J. de la Merced
This is what happens
Consumer confidence took a dip. Sentiment among consumers tanked 11 percent in March, according to a new survey from the University of Michigan that was released on Friday. The metric has fallen every month over the past three months, with a total decrease of 22 percent since December. Fear about inflation is also increasing.
The Senate voted to avert a closure. Senator Chuck Schumer from New York, the minority leader, reversed the course and allowed the Financing Act written by the Republicans to pass on Friday for a midnight deadline on Friday. Some Democrats considered stopping the bill as a way to combat Trump, but Schumer fought that Democrats would be blamed for a closure if they blocked the legislation. The move attracted loyal criticism from Democrats, including representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York and former house speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Stocks came back after a turbulent week. After a correction on Thursday in the midst of an escalating trade war and a mixed inflation report, the stocks gathered after the threats of a government closure seemed to have been averted. The price of gold, a safe haven, reached $ 3,000 for the first time.
Intel called a new CEO LIP-BU TAN, a well-known tech investor and executive, will be responsible for reviving the controversial chip-making company, whose share price has fallen by 54 percent in the past year.
Women's sport starts a new chapter
Women's sports have new stars, new money and an increasing value proposition as a fracture of the television audience – all of which have led to an influx of investors in recent years.
One of the most prominent tests or those big bets can translate into Blockbuster Returns started on Friday with the seasonal opening matches of the National Women's Soccer League.
After a long period of sub -investment, the competition raised money from large institutional investors such as Sixth Street and Carlyle and Headline names such as Natalie Portman, Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay and Kevin Durant.
And it has capped large sponsors. This month, the competition announced a flashy deal with the unwell hydration of Alex Cooper.
Now it goes into a new chapter: prove to his investors that the business proposal is a bet that is worth taking.
“We fought for a chance and now we have the chance,” Haley Rosen, the founder and CEO of Just Women's Sports told Dealbook.
“So how do we benefit from it?”
Institutional investors have treated women's football as an investment in venture capital. The bet is effective that the sport is neglected in such a way that there is mostly only an advantage. In 2023, Sixth Street led a property group that is planning to spend $ 125 million on a new Bay Area team, with around $ 53 million on the expansion price, a huge jump compared to the $ 5 million paid for a team in Kansas City in 2021. Boston recorded his own $ 53 million months later.
'It's a question how high you can go? And in what time frame? “Alex Michael, director of Liontree, said.” We push ratings hard and fast in sport, women's sports are an exceptional example of recent times. The public and ultimately the income must keep track of continuing ascension. “
Television reviews will be a huge test. As with most sports competitions, the biggest motivation of income for the NWSL will be the media deal. In 2023 the competition closed a four -year -old deal of $ 240 million with CBS Sports, ESPN, Prime Video and SCRIPPS Sports. That is about 40 times more than his last television deal, but a fraction of the 10-year-old deal of $ 2.5 billion major League Soccer with Apple.
The media contract of NWSL will be in 2027. The short time span will enable it to quickly take advantage of any long -term momentum. But it also means that the NWSL must quickly demonstrate a real growth of television viewers if it wants to sign a more lucrative deal in four years.
“When I came here three years ago, there were no commercial considerations that we had to take into account,” said the NWSL commissioner, Jessica Berman, in January, referring to new business pressure. “We had no media partners who paid us a lot of money that had expectations to stimulate viewers goals.”
Last year, the NWSL championship 2024 was an average of 967,900 viewers in prime time on CBS on a Saturday, an increase of 18 percent compared to 2023, but only a jump of 6 percent compared to 2022.
The NWSL needs its stars to carry the weight. While the last generation is retiring stars, including Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Kelley O
The question now is whether new stars, such as Trinity Rodman (who, instead, debates about playing abroad) will catch cultural time, in a way that can support the competition.
And the expansion model to prove. Expansion teams have brought great income and big names. But selling a new team to investors is only part of the comparison – new investors have to prove that those investments can generate profit.
Some of these teams can be easier than others. Angel City FC, the Los Angeles team that sold last year for a record-breaking $ 250 million in Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, had an average stadium presence of 19,000 last year, or about 2,000 more than in the entire Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Other teams, such as the Houston Dash, were only on average around 6,000 spectators per match. All new teams should prove that fans will appear.
“So far, so good, for the NWSL,” said Michael van Liontree. “But not all teams are equalized.”
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