Gawker: valleywag, frank quattrone

Frank Quattrone advises Google's Eric Schmidt on how to do absolutely nothing

Owen Thomas — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Google's best hope in the Yahoo takeover battle is to have nothing happen. A Yahoo, weak but independent, providing just enough competition to keep antitrust cops off Google's back, is the best outcome. To assure that, CEO Eric Schmidt has turned to the unlikeliest of layabouts: investment banker Frank Quattrone, who's trying to make a comeback after having an obstruction-of-justice conviction overturned. How frustrating for the hard-charging Quattrone: In this assignment, he'll only succeed by assuring that a deal doesn't come to fruition.

With big banks tottering, VCs may find all their exits blocked

Jackson West — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:40:09 EDT

Bear Stearns' epic fail will make M&A financing hard to come by. IPOs seem to have gone the way of Kozmo.com. That leaves exactly zero practical exit strategies for VCs. I came away with that insight after swimming through the flood of water metaphors in Tom Abate's economic pulse-taker in the Chronicle.

A lack of M&A activity could have long-term repercussions for the venture industry. To attract investors to new funds, VCs need to have a track record of successfully flipped startups, and those deals require buyers and financing. Which might explain why everyone's being so nice to Frank "not a symbol of corruption" Quattrone, whose Qatalyst M&A advice shop is one of many springing up to take Wall Street's place. (Photo by Sproston Green)

Frank Quattrone's rebound relationships

Owen Thomas — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:40:07 EDT

Having cleared his name of obstruction-of-justice charges, former Credit Suisse tech investment banker Frank Quattrone is launching his own boutique firm, Qatalyst Partners. Several big Valley names volunteered quotes for the press release. It's not surprising that Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who's made his own moral missteps, would be forgiving of Quattrone. But Gideon Yu, Facebook's CFO, makes a more curious appearance. He gave a statement applauding Quattrone's partner Jonathan Turner, not Quattrone himself. But still, it amounts to an endorsement. Does Yu really think Quattrone did nothing wrong? Or, as a minister's son, is he just expressing the highest form of the Valley's belief in the power of redemption?

"My experience with the justice system opened...

Megan McCarthy — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:20:22 EDT

"My experience with the justice system opened my eyes to the horrific plight of wrongfully convicted prisoners, most of whom don't have the resources to regain their freedom by proving their innocence." — Frank Quattrone, former Credit Suisse First Boston investment banker, in a statement released after federal charges for obstruction of justice were dropped. [San Jose Mercury News]

Rehabilitation through philanthropy

Tim Faulkner — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:53:55 EDT

TIM FAULKNER — Frank Quattrone continues to rehab the perception that he is the poster child for corruption in the late-90s tech boom by following the path of his late-80s counterpart Michael Milken, the Drexel junk bond king: remaking himself as a philanthropist. The former Credit Suisse First Boston investment banker, who helped bring Netscape, Cisco, Amazon, and many other notable tech companies public, has been named Chairman of the Board of the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation, a charity close to his heart and his wallet.

Just as Milken sought to reform his image as fraudster by quickly founding the Prostate Cancer Foundation upon his release from prison in 1993 and its 2003 follow-up, the DC-based think tank Faster Cures, Quattrone is playing up his contributions to the technology museum, affectionately referred to as the Tech.

Defenders of both high-profile financiers marred by legal scutiny would quickly point out their philanthropic endeavors predate any alleged wrongdoings. (Michael Milken co-founded the Milken Family Foundation in 1982 and the Milken National Educator Awards in 1985 while Quattrone has been involved with the Tech since its inception, a board member for over 10 years, and contributes to numerous other charities.) This only goes to show that if you harbor any intentions of engaging in legally questionable practices, you should make an early start in philanthropy. Certainly the mustachioed Quattrone must have found the 2004 Fortune cover story profiling Milken as the "The Man Who Changed Medicine", during the height of his legal battles, heart-warming and reassuring. [Updated.]

Frank Quattrone prepares for re-entry

Chris Mohney — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:00:36 EST

Feel the love for onetime Valley investment mandarin Smilin' Frank Quattrone, as the San Jose Mercury News extracts numerous complimentary quotes from those eager to make a buck with the man and/or terrified of his potential return. With his many pals paving the way for an easy comeback, Quattrone is rumored to be planning a combination investment bank and private equity fund that may raise something like $3 to $5 billion. Somewhere in the gleeful chittering, you can almost hear that new bubble inflating.

Meet your whitecollar crimelords: Joseph Nacchio

Nick Douglas — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:40:42 EDT

If his criminal charges are all dropped, Frank Quattrone could collect $100 million in back pay from his former employer. As long as the major investment banker (who blew up the dot-com bubble with IPO funding) stays clean for a year, he's golden. Great, story over, next criminal.

Why, look, it's former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, accused of insider trading to the tune of $101 million. In the other corner, first assistant U.S. attorney Cliff Stricklin, last seen putting Ken Lay behind bars.

If our man wants to be Nacchio Libre, he'll have to fight 42 charges of insider trading. His current defense? "I had no idea the company was going under." Yeah, that seemed to work just fine for Lay.

Of course, the Secret Insider Knowledge that Nacchio say made him so confident...is classified. Matters of national security. Let's see if Nacchio can't eat just one charge with that defense.

Enron Prosecutor to Lead Case Against Qwest's Former CEO [WSJ]