The NY banker making the most from the CS First Boston deal
When Credit Suisse finalizes its purchase of boutique firm M. Klein & Co in preparation for the birth of CS First Boston, someone will become very rich.
Bloomberg reported this week that Credit Suisse is buying M. Klein & Co for "around a few hundred million dollars," as it sows the seed from which the hopefully mighty new boutique grow.
Until now, the presumption had been that Michael Klein, the former Citi banker who was the founder and managing partner of the semi-eponymous advisory boutique, would be the main beneficiary of those hundreds of millions. But this may not be the case.
We already noted that Michael has a brother called Mark and that Mark also works for M. Klein & Co and will also be joining Credit Suisse when the boutique is purchased. However, it has since come to our attention that it's Mark, not Michael, who is the boutique's majority shareholder.
In his bio for his other role as CEO at SuroCapital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, Mark says he's both managing member and majority partner at M. Klein & Co. The latter would seem to imply that it's Mark who will receive the bulk of the "few hundred million" payday, not his brother.
There are some suggestions that Mark not Michael is the driving force between M Klein & Co. This may be unfair. FINRA suggests the two M Klein's founded their firm together in 2010. Michael appears to have been wholly committed to it ever since, while Mark - curiously for a majority owner and CEO - has been involved in other things and was registered at asset management B. Riley for six years from 2013.
Before setting up the boutique with his brother, Mark worked for nine firms between 1988 and 2005, including Lehman Brothers and smaller entities such as NGBI Securities, the brokerage arm of National Bank of Greece, where he spent four years.
Despite largely avoiding the bulge bracket, Mark now appears on track for one of biggest paydays of 2023. Credit Suisse bankers, by comparison, will need to be patient for a bit longer. Last year, the average bonus for Credit Suisse's senior people was down 41%. This year, Bloomberg reports that the bank is thinking of halving its bonus pool again.
While they're likely to receive the largest payouts, the Klein Brothers may not be the only ones benefiting from the Credit Suisse deal. FINRA says M Klein & Co. has 46 registered employees, including former Citi banker David Friedman, who joined with Michael in 2010.
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