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How is Allen & Company unlike other banks? Let us count the ways: It has no website, no barrage of press releases touting recent deals, no sprawling menu of financial services, no research division, no employment contact, and no formal recruiting process. What Allen & Company does have is a platinum reputation and serious mystique, earned over nearly nine decades of semi-secretive, exclusive advisory and wealth management work with some of the biggest names in corporate America. The firm is an institutional broker and money manager for high-net-worth individuals, including the founding Allen family; it also provides M&A, underwriting, and related advisory services.
Most of Allen & Company’s clients hail from the media, sports, entertainment, communications and technology sectors—this tiny boutique was a player in Google’s 2004 initial public offering. It’s also been behind the scenes of such headline-worthy deals as Time Warner/Comcast’s purchase of Adelphia, the Disney/ABC tie-up and the 20-year, $400 million deal that gave Citigroup naming rights to the Mets ballpark.
But Allen & Co.’s closest ties are to Coca-Cola, thanks to a relationship that dates back to 1982. Then-CEO Herbert Allen had bought a controlling stake in Columbia Pictures in 1973 (he paid just $4 per share for the legendary studio). In 1982, Coke bought Columbia, paying a whopping $750 million. Allen pocketed $45 million and earned himself a seat on the Coke board; the marquee deal also catapulted Allen & Company into the upper echelons of i-banking, helping it win a number of prestigious clients.
Since its first deal with Coke, Allen & Co. has done several subsequent deals and underwriting assignments for the soft drink giant and its affiliates, raking in millions of dollars in advisory fees. The Allen family still owns a chunk of Coke shares and there’s been some boardroom back-and-forths, too: Coke president Donald Keough became chairman of Allen & Co., and his son Clarke joined the bank’s institutional sales group.
As for its staff, Allen & Company’s managing directors have included former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley; George Tenet, the former director of the CIA; Priceline.com director (and media M&A powerhouse) Nancy Peretsman; and Steve Greenberg, former Major League Baseball deputy commissioner.
The Shadows 