Investment banking firm Peter J. Solomon has sold a majority stake in the company to French investment bank Natixis.
The move will benefit both firms as the U.S.-based Peter J. Solomon is looking to expand overseas, while the French company is hoping to enter the U.S mergers and acquisitions market.
An individual familiar with the transaction said a 51 percent stake was sold, and the firm would continue to operate as a separate U.S. entity. Solomon has signed a 10-year employment agreement to continue with the company he founded, the source said. Members of his team will continue with the firm as well.
Peter J. Solomon founded his firm in 1989, focusing on the retail and consumer sectors. Among its more recent transactions in the fashion sector was the representation of Chico’s FAS Inc., which last month sold its Boston Proper business to private equity firm Brentwood Associates.
Before founding his own investment firm, Solomon was vice chairman of Lehman Brothers, where he was chairman of its merchant banking division and co-chairman of its investment banking division.
From 1978 to 1980, he was deputy mayor of economic policy and development in New York City under Mayor Edward I. Koch. He was also chairman of the NYC Health and Hospitals Corp., which operated 17 municipal hospitals, and Solomon served as counselor to the U.S. Treasury in the Carter Administration in 1980.