Wall street elders talk nostalgically about the days of private partnerships, before investment banks went public, btg Pactual, a Brazilian investment bank that raised 3.7 billion reais ($1.9 billion) in an initial public offering (ipo) on April 24th, thinks it can have the best of both worlds. Although the ipo will enable some investors, like J.C. Flowers & Co, a private-equity firm, to cash out at a handsome profit, the bank's partners have less freedom. btg does not want to go public only to see partners chase Ferraris, third homes and early retirement by taking unnecessary risks in order to plump the share price. So it has put severe restrictions on partners selling shares. Partners who want to leave the bank or cash out will be allowed to sell their shares only to other partners, and only at book value. In this way the bank's culture will not be corrupted by going public, the thinking goes, and shareholders can be reassured that partners will stay for the long term.
展开▼
