A boutique investment bank firm has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Moelis & Co., which is headquartered in New York and has an office in Century City, filed its paperwork March 4 to go public, according to SEC records.
The firm requested a $100 million placeholder, meaning the firm hopes to raise at least that amount as part of the IPO but could raise the figure higher based upon demand.
Shares of Moelis & Co. would be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) once the public offering is completed. Its trading symbol would be MC.
Ken Moelis founded Moelis & Co. in 2007. The firm claims to be “the fastest growing global independent investment bank as measured by revenues and market share gains.”
Moelis & Co. stated in its SEC filing it services more than 300 advisory professionals and has 14 offices globally.
“We have advised on [more than] $1 trillion of transactions, including three of the ten largest announced global mergers and acquisitions and four of the ten largest announced global recapitalizations and restructurings in 2013,” the company stated in its SEC filing.
The firm reported $411 million in revenues and $73 million in pre-tax income in 2013. Also in 2013, Moelis & Co. won the “Most Innovative Independent Investment Bank” award by The Banker, an honor it also held in 2011 and 2010. Euromoney Magazine named Moelis & Co. the “Best Global Independent Investment Bank” in 2010.
With less than $1 billion in revenues in 2013, Moelis & Co. qualifies as an “emerging growth company,” the company stated in its filing. The status allows Moelis & Co. to take advantage of certain exemptions, including reduced compensation disclosure requirements and more time to “comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies.”
Among the firm’s transactions include a $61.2 billion sale involve Anheuser Busch, a $44.6 billion unsolicited proposal from Microsoft for Yahoo!, the bankruptcy restructuring American Airlines and its merger with U.S. Airways, and the $24.9 billion restructuring of the Dubai World Corp., among others.
The March 4 filing did not specify how much Moelis, the firm’s CEO, would be worth once the IPO is complete.
In Century City, Moelis & Co. is located at 1999 Avenue of the Stars.
