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From Ferrari to Facebook: the incredible client list of Wall Street’s most secretive firm
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Herbert Allen Jr
Some of the biggest names in tech, telecom and the media industries have one thing in common.
The tiny financial advisory firm quietly advising them on deals behind the scenes: Allen & Co.
The firm worked on the initial public offering of Ferrari which priced on Tuesday night.
It is also an adviser on the flotation of Match Group, which is behind some of the world’s biggest dating apps and websites.
Those are just the latest in a long line of landmark roles for the firm. It has previously worked on deals for the likes of Facebook and Google.
The firm shuns the spotlight. It has no website (this one belongs to a different company), and employs fewer than 200 people. A spokesperson for the firm did not respond to a call seeking comment in time for publication.
Herbert Allen Junior led the company for years, and has a seat on the board of Coca-Cola. His son Herb Allen III, who is now CEO at the firm, was named on Vanity Fair’s new establishment list in 2012.
Many of the deals the company works on are birthed during the firm’s secretive annual Sun Valley Conference, which is sometimes described as the “Billionaire’s Summer Camp.” Hollywood celebrities mingle with CEOs like Bill Gates and Elon Musk.
Here is a list the firm’s best known clients.
Data and numbers regarding deals and Allen & Co.’s clients courtesy of Dealogic.
Disclosure: Allen & Co. was an early investor in Business Insider.
Ferrari
Sector: Auto
About: The IPO of Luxury carmaker Ferrari is one of the most hyped deals of 2015.
The Italian supercar maker Ferrari priced its initial public offering on Tuesday at $52 per share, with shares trading up at the open.
Allen and Company was a bookrunner 0n the deal.
Time Warner Cable
Sector: Telecom
About: Allen & Co. advised Time Warner Cable on it’s $80 billion merger with Charter Communications, which was announced in May 2015. The deal will make the combined entity the second largest cable provider in the US .
PayPal
Sector: Technology
About: Allen & Co. advised on the separation of PayPal and eBay in July 2015 in a deal worth $49.16 billion.
Sector: Technology
About: Allen & Co. landed a role on Facebook’s giant IPO in 2012, in a deal which raised $16 billion on the Nasdaq.
The boutique later worked on Facebook’s acquisition of popular instant messaging platform WhatsApp for $21.94 billion in 2014.
The app now boasts 900 million monthly active users, while Facebook’s in-house app, Messenger, claims 600 million monthly users.
Sector: Technology
About: Allen & Co. acted as an underwriter on Twitter’s IPO, which raised $2.1 billion in November 2013.
Sector: Technology
About: Allen & Co. was one of advisers on Google’s IPO in 2004. The sale priced at $85 a share and raised $1.67 billion — coming in below expectations at the time.
Sector: Technology
About: LinkedIn raised $352.8 million in a 2011 initial public offering, with Allen & Co. working on the deal.
Coca Cola Company
Sector: Food & Beverage
About: Allen & Co. advised Coca-Cola Co. on its $13.6 billion acquisition of bottling company, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. in February 2010.
Activision
Sector: Telecom
About: Allen & Co. advised Activision, a gaming development company, on its $12.4 billion merger with Vivendi in 2007.
In 2013, Activision bought about $8.2 billion worth of shares from Vivendi, with Allen and Company again advising on the transaction.
JD.com
Sector: Online Retail
About: JD.com is a Chinese e-commerce website founded by CEO Liu Qiangdong.
In May 2014, Allen & Co. acted as one of the joint bookrunners on it’s IPO on the NASDAQ, which raised $2.05 billion. At the time, it was the biggest-ever Chinese IPO.
Groupon
Sector: Online Retail
About: Allen & Co. acted as a joint bookrunner for the company in 2011, for a deal that raised $805 million on the Nasdaq.
Most recently, the company cut 10% of its workforce.
Workday
Sector: Technology
About: Workday is a cloud-based software company that creates payroll and financial management platforms for large companies. It went public in 2012, raising $733 million with the help of Allen and Company as a bookrunner.
Allen & Co. again jumped in in 2014 to help the company through its follow on offering, which raised $614 million deal.
Pure Storage Inc.
Sector: Technology
About: A flash storage provider, Pure Storage was one of the most watched IPOs of 2015 — but closed below it’s $17 per share IPO price.
Allen & Co. was a bookrunner on the offering.
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