Perella Weinberg Partners

Perella Weinberg Partners

File:General Motors Building at 5th Avenue and 59th Street, Manhattan.jpg Corporate headquarters at 767 Fifth Avenue
Company type	Public
Traded as	Template:NASDAQ
Industry	Financial services
Founded	2006 (2006)
Founders	Joseph R. Perella Peter A. Weinberg Tarek “Terry” Abdel-Meguid
Headquarters	767 Fifth Avenue, New York City, US
Key people	Andrew Bednar (CEO) Dietrich Becker (president)
Website	pwpartners.com

Perella Weinberg Partners is a global financial advisory firm headquartered in the United States, specializing in investment banking services.

Established in 2006 by Joseph R. Perella, Peter A. Weinberg, and Terry Meguid, the company became publicly traded in 2021. Its main office resides in New York City, with additional locations across London, Paris, Munich, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Calgary.

History

Perella Weinberg commenced operations in June 2006 with offices situated in both New York and London. The firm secured more than US$1.1 billion from investors to fund its launch and initial investment activities.

In 2016, it broadened its footprint in the energy sector by acquiring Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., a Houston-based company, which was then integrated as its dedicated energy division.

December 2020 marked the announcement of Perella Weinberg’s intention to become publicly listed via a merger with FinTech Acquisition Corporation IV, a Nasdaq-listed SPAC backed by Cohen & Company. The deal finalized in June 2021, enabling Perella Weinberg to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PWP as of June 25.

Leadership

Prior to co-founding Perella Weinberg Partners, Peter Weinberg held the position of CEO at Goldman Sachs International in London and was co-head of its Global Investment Banking Division. Since the firm's inception in 2006, Andrew Bednar and Dietrich Becker have been partners and served jointly as Co-Presidents. Andrew Bednar assumed the role of CEO on January 1, 2023.

Advisory

Perella Weinberg offers advisory expertise encompassing mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring, capital structure optimization, liability management, shareholder relations, and strategic financial transactions. Its clientele spans corporations, family offices, governmental entities, and special board committees across sectors including consumer retail, energy, financial institutions, healthcare, industrials, technology, telecommunications, and media.

Key engagements feature advising NYSE Euronext on its $11 billion sale to Intercontinental Exchange (2012); counseling Medtronic during its $42.9 billion acquisition of Covidien (2014); supporting Altria Group amid AB InBev’s acquisition of SABMiller valued over $100 billion (2015-16); guiding AT&T on its $108.7 billion purchase of Time Warner (2016); facilitating Linde’s $65 billion merger with Praxair (2016); assisting CareFusion’s $12.2 billion sale to Becton Dickinson (2017); managing E.ON’s asset swap with RWE involving Innogy (2018); advising Energen Corp on its $9.2 billion sale to Diamondback Energy through Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (2018); aiding Oaktree Capital Management during its $4.7 billion majority stake sale to Brookfield Asset Management (2019); supporting Altran’s $4.1 billion sale to Capgemini (2019); guiding Groupe PSA’s $50 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles forming the world’s fourth-largest automaker (2019); and advising PayPal on its $4 billion acquisition of Honey Science Corp (2019).

The firm has also played a significant role in major restructuring efforts such as iHeart Media’s $20 billion reorganization (2019) and Concordia Resources’ $4 billion recapitalization. In 2020, Perella Weinberg provided advisory services to PG&E bondholders throughout restructuring proceedings and assisted California Resources Corporation with liability management and Chapter 11 reorganization. Additionally, it was engaged by the U.S. Treasury Department to offer guidance on CARES Act business support initiatives related to national security.

Between late 2020 and 2021, Perella advised Northrop Grumman on a $3.4 billion divestiture; Kraft Heinz on the $3.35 billion Planters sale to Hormel Foods; facilitated Discovery Inc.’s merger with WarnerMedia; supported Cimarex Energy’s $8.9 billion merger with Cabot Oil & Gas; advised Vonovia on its $22 billion merger with Deutsche Wohnen; assisted KKR in its $5.3 billion take-private acquisition of Cloudera; and counseled MKS Instruments on its $5.1 billion acquisition of Atotech.

Perella Weinberg has been actively involved in SPAC-related transactions including Pershing Square Tontine Holdings’ $4 billion acquisition of a 10% stake in Universal Music Group; Owl Rock Capital Group’s combination with Dyal Capital Partners forming Blue Owl Capital Inc.; Parallel’s $1.9 billion business combination with Ceres Acquisition Corporation; and Science 37's $1.05 billion merger with LifeSci Acquisition II Corporation.

In March 2021, the firm launched PWP Forward Acquisition Corp. I, a women-led SPAC designed to enhance access to public financing for businesses founded or led by women or those that advance women's interests.

Asset management

Perella Weinberg's asset management division operates under the name Agility, catering to long-term investors such as endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices. Chris Bittman serves as CEO and CIO of Agility, which oversees assets totaling around $13.5 billion. The Agility Fund has been acknowledged for its excellence in outsourced CIO services, receiving the Outsourced CIO of the Year award from Institutional Investor in 2014, 2015, and 2017, as well as recognition from Foundation & Endowment Intelligence in 2013.