A deal toy (also deal gift, lucite tombstone or financial tombstone) is a customized memento or gift that is intended to mark and commemorate the closing of a business deal in finance or investment banking. These plaques or other types of trophies are typically presented at the closing ceremony or dinner to the issuer and senior third-party advisers of the major financial transactions as a souvenir. [1]
The deal toy is the marriage of a design with the tombstone advertisement, a term that dates to the late 19th century, when printers used it to refer to "column-width newspaper ads run without any illustration or typographical ornamentation." Restrictions imposed by the Securities Act of 1933 meant that the tombstone ad became the format that companies and banks used to publicize financial transactions such as initial public offerings. From at least the late 1960s, law firms and banks produced Lucite slabs that encased the tombstone ads announcing new partner classes. By the early 1970s, deal closings were being similarly immortalized. [2] [3]
As a result of the banking crisis of 2008, investment banks closed fewer deals, and deal toy budgets were reined in accordingly. [4]
Deal toys are designed to commemorate a financial transaction. [5] This memento is described as an ad hoc creation to a financial offering or other major investment banking transaction and is most often presented at the closing ceremony of the deal. [6]
This souvenir typically includes the names or logos of the firms for which the transaction is completed (the recipients), description of the transaction (type, size and, date of the deal) as well as the names and or logos of the key financial advisors and financiers involved in that transaction. Because the recipients of the award are the clients of the advisors and financiers, the award also acts as a marketing tool for the presenter long after the transaction has passed.
As deal toys became used within the investment banking industry, they also became a point of pride—and competition—with firms frequently seeking to outdo each other with creative and elaborate designs. [7]
The banking crisis of 2008 caused many financial firms to rein in spending generally, and on deal toys specifically. [4] Though many[ which? ] financial firms have recently eased restrictions on tombstone budgets, they largely have not been restored to pre-crisis levels. Average order size, which had ranged between 50-60 pieces prior to 2008, had by 2013 stabilized at around 20-30. Order quantities can still reach approximately 50 or 60 for larger transactions. [4]
Deal toys can be manufactured by 3D printing, which allows the creation of beautiful and complex tombstones compared with more conventional materials. The materials used for 3D printing a deal toy are polyamide and resin.[ citation needed ] These are often used in combination with other materials like, wood, stone, steel or acrylic.
Deal toys are generally considered to be prized by the recipient, indicating achievement. Deal toys possessed by an individual can also serve as a reflection of his or her status, as they indicate the number of transactions with which they have been involved. They are displayed to help persuade potential clients to work with a firm on their transaction. [8]
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loans, along with the assets of the acquiring company. The use of debt, which normally has a lower cost of capital than equity, serves to reduce the overall cost of financing the acquisition.
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading of derivatives and equity securities, FICC services or research. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry, it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket, Middle Market, and boutique market.
The Glass–Steagall legislation describes four provisions of the United States Banking Act of 1933 separating commercial and investment banking. The article 1933 Banking Act describes the entire law, including the legislative history of the provisions covered.
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of Citicorp, the bank holding company for Citibank, and Travelers in 1998; Travelers was spun off from the company in 2002.
A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is a form of short-term borrowing, mainly in government securities. The dealer sells the underlying security to investors and, by agreement between the two parties, buys them back shortly afterwards, usually the following day, at a slightly higher price.
Lehman Brothers Inc. was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States, with about 25,000 employees worldwide. It was doing business in investment banking, equity, fixed-income and derivatives sales and trading, research, investment management, private equity, and private banking. Lehman was operational for 158 years from its founding in 1850 until 2008.
Bulge bracket banks are the world's largest multi-national investment banks, serving mostly large corporations, institutional investors and governments. The term "Bulge Bracket" comes from the way investment banks are listed on the "tombstone", or public notification of a financial transaction;, where the largest advisors on investment banking operations are listed first. The term is primarily related to the financial advisory side of the business, as opposed to sales and trading.
J.P. Morgan & Co. is an American financial institution specialized in investment banking, asset management and private banking founded by financier J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in the world. The company has been historically referred to as the "House of Morgan" or simply Morgan. For 146 years, until 2000, J.P. Morgan specialized in commercial banking, before a merger with Chase Manhattan Bank led to the business line spinning off under the Chase brand.
Banc of America Securities LLC (BAS), was the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America until it was merged with Merrill Lynch after that firm's acquisition in 2008 to become Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Headquartered in New York City, the company competed in both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets.
Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. (TFCP) is a UK-based private equity firm. Financier Guy Hands founded the firm in 2002 through the spin-off of Nomura Principal Finance Group. The firm, which traces its roots to the formation of its predecessor in 1994, has invested over €14 billion since inception.
Evercore Inc., formerly known as Evercore Partners, is a global independent investment banking advisory firm founded in 1995 by Roger Altman, David Offensend, and Austin Beutner. The firm has advised on over $4.7 trillion of merger, acquisition, and restructuring transactions since its founding. Evercore is widely considered one of the most prestigious and elite investment banking advisory firms.
Perella Weinberg Partners L.P. is an American global financial services firm focused on investment banking advisory services.
A tombstone is a type of print notice that is most often used in the financial industry to formally announce a particular transaction, such as an initial public offering or placement of stock of a company.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American banking and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The bank offers investment management, investment services, and wealth management services. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financial Corporation in 2007. It is the world's largest custodian bank and securities services company, with $1.8 trillion in assets under management and $45.7 trillion in assets under custody as of 2023. It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board.
An acrylic trophy is an alternative to the traditional glass, or crystal trophy. Acrylic glass can be molded into a variety of forms, and corporations will often create custom promotional items shaped like their products. They are manufactured by pouring acrylic casting resin into a mold. Embedments are acrylic trophies that have an item embedded into the resin. Many materials can be placed in an embedment – paper, metal, acetate sheets, etc. This creates the effect of an item floating within the acrylic statue.
Moelis & Company is a global investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, governments, and financial sponsors. The firm advises on strategic decisions such as mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings and other corporate finance matters. Moelis is widely considered one of the most prestigious investment banking advisory firms and has advised on more than $4 trillion in transactions since its inception.
A boutique investment bank is a investment bank that specializes in at least one aspect of investment banking, generally corporate finance, although some banks' strengths are retail in nature, such as Charles Schwab. Of those involved in corporate finance, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring and reorganizations are their primary activities. Boutiques usually provide advisory and consulting services, but lack capacity to provide funding. After the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, investment banks have either had a retail deposit base or have had funding from overseas owners or from Wealth Management arms. Boutique banks on the other hand often turn to other banks to provide funding or deal directly with capital rich firms such as insurers to provide capital for deals.
Blair W. Effron is an American financier. Effron co-founded Centerview Partners, a leading global investment banking firm based in New York City. Centerview has offices in London, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and San Francisco. The firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, valuation, and capital structure to companies, institutions and governments.
Centerview Partners is an American independent investment banking firm. Centerview operates primarily as an investment banking advisory firm. Centerview has 60 partners and 400 professionals with expertise across a wide range of industries, geographies, transaction structures and sizes.
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