Word: drexel
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
During the nearly two years that the Government spent preparing its case, Drexel defiantly declared its innocence and launched a major advertising campaign extolling the civic virtues of its junk bonds. Joseph claims that the two-year federal probe cost Drexel $1.5 billion in lost revenues and an additional $175 million in legal and advertising fees. Since November, the firm has bargained for an agreement that, as chairman Robert Linton put it, "would not make us look like a bunch of thieves...
Negotiations appeared to collapse last Monday, when Drexel's board of directors voted against a settlement. Joseph boasted that his staff had sifted through 1.5 million Drexel documents without finding any incriminating evidence. A former lightweight boxing champion at Harvard, Joseph insisted that the best defense against a heavy punch is "to come back at your opponent smiling...
...associates into Government witnesses by granting them immunity from prosecution. The knockout power of an indictment under the 1970 Racketeer ! Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was also greatly feared. Charges under RICO, developed to prosecute the Mafia and other organized criminals, would allow Giuliani to tie up much of Drexel's $2.3 billion of capital -- including the fortunes of the firm's 1,700 employee stockholders -- throughout a lengthy trial...
Meanwhile, a fierce struggle raged inside the firm. On one side stood Milken's supporters, many of them younger executives who worked in the Beverly Hills office where Milken has been based since 1978. The leading loyalists included Leon Black, Drexel's mergers-and-acquisitions chief who works in New York, and Peter Ackerman, Milken's top assistant. Arguing that the California group was responsible for 90% of Drexel's profits over the past decade, both threatened to leave the company if it reached a settlement that might harm Milken's defense. They were opposed by older executives, mostly...
...Drexel still displays its characteristic moxie. The firm is handling a $3.5 billion junk-bond offering as part of the $25 billion leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. For its share in financing history's largest takeover, Drexel expects to take in $229 million before expenses. Many clients still profess their allegiance. Says raider and oilman Pickens, who relied on Drexel's financing clout to make bids for Gulf Corp. and Phillips Petroleum: "I have the highest regard for Fred Joseph...