Wall Street Research Firm MoffettNathanson Goes Indie Again After Bankruptcy of Parent Company
MoffettNathanson, a leading Wall Street research outfit covering the media and communications sectors, is once again an independent entity.
In December 2021, SVB Financial Group acquired New York-based MoffettNathanson, which was founded in 2013 by analysts Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson. In March of this year, Silicon Valley Bank — part of SVB Financial Group — collapsed after a run on its assets, leading the parent company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
On Oct. 2, SVB Financial Group announced that it completed the sale of its investment banking business, SVB Securities (renamed Leerink Partners), to the management team bidder group led by Jeff Leerink, founder and CEO of Leerink Partners, and backed by funds managed by the Baupost Group. Leerink Partners describes itself as “a highly specialized healthcare investment bank” that has helped clients raise more than $150 billion to date. The sale followed a competitive bidding process conducted under procedures approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
MoffettNathanson (called SVB MoffettNathanson under the previous ownership) was not included in the sale to Leerink; as such, it has regained its independent status.
“[T]o be crystal clear, there is no change to our coverage, our upcoming publication schedules, nor to any of our scheduled events or conferences,” the MoffettNathanson partners wrote in a note to clients Monday. “Nor is there any change to the availability of previously published research via the MoffettNathanson website. Our name is changing. What you get from us is not.”
MoffettNathanson’s coverage spans media, communications (cable, satellite and wireless), video games, and payments, processors and IT services. Companies in its coverage include Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast, Charter, Fox Corp., AT&T, Verizon, Dish Network, AMC Networks and Roku.
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