Allen & Company
Encyclopedia
Allen & Company is a boutique investment bank based at 711 Fifth Avenue, New York City
.
Today, the firm is generally regarded as the premier investment house in the media
and entertainment
sector despite having only a small staff (estimated at 170 employees).
Allen & Company, which is currently run by Herb Allen, nephew of the founder, generally shies away from publicity and does not maintain a website or issue press releases.
In 1973, Allen & Company bought a stake in Columbia Pictures
. When the business was sold in 1982 to Coca-Cola
, they netted a significant profit. Since then, Herbert Allen, Jr. has had a place on Coke's board of directors.
Since its founding in 1982, the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference
regularly draws such heavyweights as Bill Gates
, Warren Buffett
, Rupert Murdoch
, Barry Diller
, Michael Eisner
, Oprah Winfrey
, Robert Johnson
, Andy Grove, Richard Parsons, Donald Keough
, and many others. Excite quotes a "media mogul": "Deals just don't get done in Hollywood unless Allen & Co. has a hand in it."
Allen & Co. was one of the underwriters for the Google
initial public offering
, and have been retained to assist the ownership of the New York Mets
in obtaining a strategic partner.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
History
Founded in 1922 by Charles Robert Allen, Jr., he was soon joined by his brother, Herbert A. Allen, Sr.Herbert A. Allen, Sr.
Herbert Allen, Sr. was an American stock broker. A partner in Allen & Company with his older brother Charles for more than fifty-five years, they were one of the first in the industry to specialize in corporate takeovers. One of the wealthiest figures on Wall Street, in 1956 he was appointed...
Today, the firm is generally regarded as the premier investment house in the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
sector despite having only a small staff (estimated at 170 employees).
Allen & Company, which is currently run by Herb Allen, nephew of the founder, generally shies away from publicity and does not maintain a website or issue press releases.
In 1973, Allen & Company bought a stake in Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. When the business was sold in 1982 to Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, they netted a significant profit. Since then, Herbert Allen, Jr. has had a place on Coke's board of directors.
Since its founding in 1982, the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference
Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference
The Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference is an annual conference hosted and wholly independently funded by private investment firm Allen & Company. The conference has taken place in Sun Valley, Idaho for one week each July since 1983. The conference typically features business leaders, political...
regularly draws such heavyweights as Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
, Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
, Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
, Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
, Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, Robert Johnson
Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson is an American business magnate best known for being the founder of television network Black Entertainment Television , and is also its former chairman and chief executive officer...
, Andy Grove, Richard Parsons, Donald Keough
Donald Keough
Donald R. Keough is Chairman of the Board of Allen & Company Incorporated, a New York investment-banking firm. He was elected to that position in April 1993....
, and many others. Excite quotes a "media mogul": "Deals just don't get done in Hollywood unless Allen & Co. has a hand in it."
Allen & Co. was one of the underwriters for the Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
, and have been retained to assist the ownership of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
in obtaining a strategic partner.
Notable current employees
- Nancy Peretsman Formerly of Salomon BrothersSalomon BrothersSalomon Brothers was a bulge bracket, Wall Street investment bank. Founded in 1910 by three brothers along with a clerk named Ben Levy, it remained a partnership until the early 1980s, when it was acquired by the commodity trading firm Phibro Corporation and then became Salomon Inc. Eventually...
, Director of Priceline - Donald KeoughDonald KeoughDonald R. Keough is Chairman of the Board of Allen & Company Incorporated, a New York investment-banking firm. He was elected to that position in April 1993....
former Coca-Cola President - George TenetGeorge TenetGeorge John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
Former Director of the CIA - Steve Greenberg, son of baseball Hall of Famer Hank GreenbergHank GreenbergHenry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
- Bill BradleyBill BradleyWilliam Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
Former United States Senator and Basketball Hall of Famer