Way back in January, Facebook’s already soaring valuation took off like a rocket hitting another stage when Goldman Sachs engineered a multi-billion dollar investment of its money and its clients money at a $50 billion valuation.
After the deal went through, Facebook’s valuation shot up well past $100 billion in some trades on secondary markets, before settling where it is today at around $80 billion.
Thanks to Facebook’s private ownership and SEC regulatory concerns, the whole deal was very hush hush. In fact, the SEC eventually blocked Goldman’s US clients from getting in on it.
But we’ve finally learned which Goldman Partner organized and led the whole deal.
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Meet the lantern-jawed George Lee – partner and co-head of global technology, media and telecom banking at Goldman Sachs. He’s pictured on the right.
Lee took the position back in 2008 when Matthew L’Heureux, who previously headed technology, media and telecommunications investment banking at Goldman retired at 45 for a life of traveling and leisure.
Lee is basically a Goldman lifer, having been at the firm since 1994 after working for three years at the Bank of New York. Before that, he went to Wharton – of course.
Before the Facebook deal, Lee’s biggest claim to fame was handling Google’s secondary offering in 2006. That and his work with eBay, Microsoft, Expedia, Adobe, and Baidu got him to #41 on Fortune’s Midas List.
We couldn’t find Lee on Facebook.
He is, however, on LinkedIn, where he already has about 500 connections.
He actually uses the site, too, having written a recommendation for a Microsoft GM named Zig Serafin (“Zig is a very bright, impressive executive who is trustworthy and a good business partner. Very energetic, creative and hard-driving.”)
According to the WSJ, you’ve probably heard of another one of Lee’s recommendations. Back in the middle part of the decade, he’s the guy who told Hank Paulson to hire Neel Kashkari.
Article source: SAI http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/D5Mx856p18M/revealed-meet-the-goldman-partner-who-engineered-the-50-billion-facebook-deal-2011-10