Peter J. Solomon Company (PJSC) is a boutique investment bank

Boutique investment bank

A boutique investment bank is a small investment bank that specializes in primarily investment banking. Usually they work on smaller deals, typically less than a billion dollars, and usually assist on the sell-side in M&A transactions. In addition they sometimes specialize in certain industries...

 based in New York City which initiates and completes mergers and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...

, provides counsel to corporate boards and renders fairness opinion

Fairness opinion

A fairness opinion is a professional evaluation by an investment bank or other third party as to whether the terms of a merger, acquisition, buyback, spin-off, or going private are fair...

s through its Special Committee Practice; assists companies on financial restructuring

Restructuring

Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs...

s through its Restructuring and Recapitalization Practice; and provides solutions on public and private capital market transactions with its Financing Advisory team. It also provides advice on corporate defense and proxy contests.

The firm’s practice covers a broad range of industries, including consumer products; global healthcare; retail, distribution and e-commerce; and technology, media and communications. A few of PJSC’s representations in 2011 were: eBay in its acquisition of GSI Commerce Inc., Zagat Survey in its sale to Google, Chico’s in its acquisition of Boston Proper and Sony in its pending acquisition of EMI Music Publishing.

History

PJSC was founded in 1989 by Peter J. Solomon and was the first independent investment banking firm on Wall Street, created to mirror the ethos and culture of the original privately-held investment banks at a time when many of the large investment banks had gone public. In the ensuing decades, the firm has grown to almost 80 people and has added senior bankers drawn from major Wall Street investment banks.

Solomon is a former Vice Chairman of Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...

 where he was co-chairman of investment banking.

From 1978 to 1980, Mr. Solomon served as Deputy Mayor of Economic Policy and Development in New York City under Mayor Edward Koch, and in 1980, he served as Counselor to the United States Treasury in the Carter Administration. In 2010, he testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

The Commission reported its findings in January 2011. It concluded that "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the...

created by the U.S. Congress.