BSMB Vet Re-emerges
Bodil Arlander is pairing off with Cowen’s Lauren Cooks Levitan for a new effort
June 9, 2009
Bodil Arlander will not be walking off into the sunset, at least not yet. When Bear Stearns Merchant Banking completed its spinout from the investment bank and took on its new handle, Irving Place Capital, Arlander was conspicuously left behind.
As it turns out, she is launching a new firm, Moxie Capital LLC, pairing off with former Cowen & Co. retail banker Lauren Cooks Levitan. Little information could be found about the new firm.
A proxy statement for New York & Co., where Arlander is a director, reveals that she founded Moxie upon departing from Bear Stearns Merchant Banking. A search on Edgar and Thomson Financial databases, however, did not yield a filing for a new fund.
Arlander, who was stationed in Bear Stearns’ San Francisco office, oversaw Bear Stearns’ investments in retailers Aeropostale and New York & Co., both wildly successful. In the Aeropostale investment, for instance, BSMB turned a $6 million equity investment into proceeds of roughly $477 million, according to reports.
Arlander also played a role in buying CamelBak Products, among other investments. Prior to jumping into private equity, she was a vice president at Lazard in its M&A group.
Levitan, most recently, served as a managing director and senior research analyst overseeing Cowen’s specialty retail efforts. She joined Cowen in 2004 from Robertson Stephens, where she also focused on retail, and before that put in stints at the corporate level at Crate & Barrel and the Gymboree Corp.
Efforts to reach the firm were not successful as of press time.
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