According to Dealbook, the firm is the lead underwriter on
Facebook’s initial public offering.
Silicon Valley doesn’t have much love for Wall Street,
perceiving buttoned-up financiers as fee-obsessed number crunchers who don’t
really understand technology. But
Michael Grimes of Morgan Stanley, a gadget enthusiast with a computer science
background, has managed to become Silicon Valley’s banker of choice for initial
public offerings.
After the dot-com bust of 2000, many Wall Street bankers
retrenched when business dried up. But Mr. Grimes stuck around. With few deals
to be done, he quietly networked, visiting venture capitalists, entrepreneurs
and engineers. His patience and
connections are paying off, for him and for Morgan Stanley. In recent months,
he has shepherded nearly every big initial public offering, including LinkedIn,
Zynga, Groupon and Yandex.
Now, Mr. Grimes, 46, is in the final days of preparation for
his biggest act: the I.P.O. of Facebook. The social networking giant’s I.P.O.,
which could raise $10 billion for the company, is on track to be largest
Internet offering since Google’s in 2004….
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