Media Banker Moves to Evercore

Big-league media banker Jonathan Knee jumped ship from Morgan Stanley in March and joined Evercore Partners as a senior managing director in the financial services advisory group. Evercore is the owner of American Media, which publishes the Globe and tabloids National Enquirer and Star, and Weider Publications. Knee, 41, points to the changing atmosphere at bulge-bracket firms as one reason for the switch. He cites regulatory issues involving research and questions about the extent to which banks want to provide capital to their clients as the new issues that have complicated life for m&a bankers at large firms. “I’d rather spend my time talking about the three things that worry a CEO about the future, rather than sitting in a meeting discussing whether we should or shouldn’t participate in offering a company a backup credit facility,” he asserts. Knee cut his dealmaking teeth under the mentorship of Steve Wolf at United Airlines in the early 90s. He was director of international affairs at United and spent his time negotiating landing rights and gate access for the airline at airports around the world. When United was sold to its employees in 1994, Knee joined Goldman, Sachs’ London-based m&a team. At Goldman, he became a specialist in hawking media properties. Among his biggest deals in the four years he spent at the firm, both in London and New York, were the IPO of News Corp.’s minority-owned British Sky Broadcasting Group unit and his involvement in the latter stages of News Corp.’s acquisition of Star TV. While working for Goldman in New York, he was involved in the $3.5 billion sale of West Publishing to Thomson Corp. in 1996 and the $1.4 billion acquisition of Cowles Newspapers by McClatchy Papers in 1997. In 1998, Knee joined Morgan Stanley as co-head of the media group. In that capacity he helped negotiate the $8.4 billion sale of Times Mirror to the Tribune Co., the $5.7 billion acquisition of Harcourt General by Reed Elsevier, and the simultaneous $2.1 billion sale of Harcourt’s college textbook division to Thomson in 2001. In his new post at Evercore, Knee says he appreciates the flexibility he will have to pursue some of his outside interests. He will continue to serve as an adjunct professor of finance and economics at Columbia business school, where he teaches a course in media mergers. Service Appointments Banc of America Securities – James McVeigh has joined the firm as a managing director in the media and telecom group. He had been a director of media and telecom at Credit Suisse First Boston. Boston Consulting Group – Chris Neenan has joined this management consulting company as a VP and director in its New York office and global leader of its m&a practice. He had been COO and a managing director at SG Capital Partners. Broadview Holdings LLP – Michael Kelly has been appointed vice chairman of this m&a advisory firm. He will remain a managing director of the firm. Burnham Securities Inc. – The firm has expanded its Corporate Finance Group, adding Stephen Blum and Martin Pellicano as Managing Directors. Blum previously had been partner in charge of corporate finance at KPMG and managing director of Chartered Capital Advisers Inc. Pellicano most recently served as senior managing director and head of the principal activities group at Dominick & Dominick. Daniels & Associates – Steve Hubbard has been promoted to vice president of the firm. Before joining Daniels, he had been a VP of m&a at Sakura Bank. Mid-Market Capital Advisors – T. Patrick Hurley Jr. is the founding partner in this new, boutique investment bank based in Philadelphia. He was formerly head of m&a at Fleet M&A Advisors. Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin – Joining the firm’s Los Angeles office as a VP is Todd L. Merkle, formerly a Corporate Finance Associate in the Treasury Department of Irvine Apartment Communities in Newport Beach, Calif. At Houlihan Lokey he will be responsible for investment banking, financial opinions, and valuation services in the real estate group. In the firm’s Atlanta office, Gary Denning has come aboard as a director, responsible for providing m&a and financing services to chemical, packaging, and other industrial companies. Formerly, he had been a managing director in the industrial products and services group at Bear, Stearns. Lehman Brothers – Mark Shafir has become a managing director and global head of m&a at the firm. He had been a partner and director of investment banking at Thomas Weisel Partners. Morgan Joseph & Co. Inc. – Robert Miller and H. Sean Mathis are joining this investment bank as managing directors. Miller will head Joseph’s restructuring group. Mathis will also work in the unit. Miller had been president of Financo Restructuring Group, while Mathis was a Special Advisor to Financo Restructuring. UBS Warburg – Alejandro Przygoda is coming aboard at the firm as a managing director in its financial institutions group. He will head up its insurance sector in the Americas. He had been a managing director in the financial institutions group at Credit Suisse First Boston. Veronis Suhler Stevenson – Gerry Benford, Marco Sodi, and Scott Troeller became partners at this media merchant bank. All three will continue to be involved with the firm’s private equity affiliate, VS&A Communications Partners, and the firm’s investment banking activities. Corporate Appointments InterDigital Communications Corp. – This wireless technology company has promoted Charlie Brogan as senior director of corporate development. In this newly created position, he will be responsible for m&a activities. Knight Ridder – Alice Wang has joined the newspaper publishing company as VP of corporate development, with responsibility for m&a. She had been director of the media and telecommunications group at Credit Suisse First Boston. Northrop Grumman Corp. – Corporate VP and treasurer Albert F. Myers has been named to the new position of corporate VP of strategy and technology. As treasurer, Myers has been instrumental in implementing the company’s m&a strategy. He will continue to serve as Northrop’s treasurer. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com