Reaching for the Sky? "You are a notorious stockbroker whose resume contains enough scandal to rival a copy of The National Enquirer. What do you do in these scandal-weary times? If you're Ross Mandell, you open your own investment bank."
AND YOU HIRE RAYMOND DIRKS AS YOUR MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL SALES.
Article dir.megaweb.com
Reaching for the Sky
By Nicola Hobday,
Aug 18 (The Daily Deal) You are a notorious stockbroker whose resume contains enough scandal to rival a copy of The National Enquirer. What do you do in these scandal-weary times? If you're Ross Mandell, you open your own investment bank.Mandell, whose sales practices in the 1980s and 1990s prompted numerous investor complaints and an investigation by the New York Stock Exchange, is now the chief executive of Sky Capital Holdings Ltd., a new investment bank, with ambitions to build a major international presence.Sky Capital, founded a year and a half ago, has offices in New York and London and money to hire bankers and make acquisitions. Recently floated on London's Alternative Investment Market, Sky received 92,000 subscriptions for its shares and raised £3.7 million ($5.7 million). That adds to the £7.5 million it raised through a private placement earlier in the year.Although Mandell's background is in private client stock broking, he wants to build Sky into a firm that also offers M&A and capital markets advice to small and medium-sized companies."We're going to be very big in the U.S. very quickly but we're also going to make a big statement in London," Mandell said. In two years, Sky "will have 300 employees in New York with multiple offices elsewhere." Sky is also looking at acquisitions and partners in Europe and Asia and is expected to announce a deal as early as Monday, Aug. 19.So far, Sky employs about 25 people, mostly in New York. The National Association of Securities Dealers Inc. has approved it as a broker-dealer and as a member in the United States and Sky awaits Financial Services Authority registration to enable it to conduct business in Britain. That should come by year's end, either through an application or by an acquisition, Mandell said.Mandell has high hopes for his firm, betting that it can emerge as the next Deutsche Banc Alex Brown or Robertson Stephens Inc. - a mid-sized bank with an international presence. "Out of every bear market comes a great firm," he quips. Mandell says he sees no competition head on. However, similar firms in the U.K. would probably be the likes of Close Brothers Group plc, Hawkpoint Partners, which offers advisory only services, and Bridgewell Corporate Finance Ltd.The firm has already released its first research report. Sharon di Stefano, Sky's director of research, issued a "strong buy" recommendation on medical products and services company Polymedica Corp. Di Stefano had been an independent consultant for 10 years before joining Sky. Sky's head trader, Bruce Pettineo, joined the firm in October from Dalton Kent Securities Group Inc.Despite Mandell's grand ambitions, Sky has yet to make its mark among rival firms in London. Many at its likely competitors said they hadn't heard of the firm, though they added that it was understandable that the sector is attracting newcomers."That's the market trend," said George Knight, a spokesman for Hawkpoint. "There've been quite a number of startups in the last six months."Meanwhile, Mandell says he is determined that his history should not become an issue for his current project. According to varying newspaper reports, Mandell has been a stockbroker for at least 13 firms, including E.F. Hutton & Co., Oppenheimer & Co., Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. and D. Blech & Co. He has received at least six investor complaints, three job terminations and four regulatory actions, including a censure from the New York Stock Exchange for his sales practices."I was a stockbroker who had some personal problems," said Mandell, who is 45. He admits he was addicted to alcohol and drugs, but said he's been clean for 12 years. "Everyone wants to sensationalize those events," he said. "The issues that I've had, they're not as big a deal as they were made out to be."He also admitted that he had disagreements and that he was forced to serve a six-week suspension from trading, but said he was never fined. "Perhaps I was abrasive," he conceded, "but today I'm a gentleman. I'm more diplomatic."Mandell is certainly charismatic. He'll touch your knee during conversation to emphasize a point, repeat your first name to enforce familiarity and occasionally break off mid-sentence to indulge in outright flattery. Still, when talking about his past problems he shows signs of agitation, claiming certain newspaper articles about him were "hatchet jobs."His ability to charm may explain some of the high profile board members Sky Capital has attracted. For example, Alexander Duma, Sky's chairman, has served as a director of Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd., Chase Investment Bank Ltd. and Smith New Court Corporate Finance Ltd.Duma, who has known Mandell for six years, said he is convinced that Sky's business model can work. "If you're going to try and build a business you do it at a time when there are businesses to be bought and people to be hired," Duma said.Also on Sky's board is Matthew Carrington, a former British member of parliament, and C. Thomas McMillen, a former Maryland congressman. One of the members of Sky's advisory board is Larry Pressler, who served in the U.S. Senate between 1979 and 1997."I've surrounded myself with some credentialed people whose credibility cannot be challenged," Mandell said.Indeed, one of Sky's selling points, said Mandell, is that it's scandal-free. Where other investment banks are reassessing the links between analysts and investment banking mandates, Sky has none of those problems."We're clean as a whistle. There's nothing that can be unveiled," Mandell said.Sky's decision to list in London was also unusual, as most of its business is currently in the U.S. Mandell insists Sky's future depends on a strong presence in Europe and wanted a London listing to give it access to the international capital markets.Mandell also insists that floating in London involves more onerous listing requirements than an offering in the U.S., another reason why investors should be comfortable with Sky's protection from scandal.Besides, he said, "The opportunity is not American; it's global. London is the international capital; it's the gateway to Europe and Asia."The company sold 2 million new shares at 185 pence in the listing. Earlier in the year it sold 7.5 million shares to private investors in a round of funding at 100 pence each. Mandell owns the remaining 7 million shares. Having sold stock at 185 pence, shares in Sky were recently trading at 230 pence each, valuing Mendell's stake at £16.1 million.Mandell clearly has big ambitions for Sky Capital and his backers clearly think his timing is just right. We'll have to wait to see what the suits of Wall Street and the City, still stunned by the scandal-fueled slump, make of it.
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Sky Capital Holdings Ltd Names Ray Dirks as Managing Director of Institutional Sales and Adam Harrington Managing Director of Retail Sales at Sky Capital LLC
New York, August 19, 2002 - Sky Capital Holdings Ltd today announced the appointment of Ray Dirks as Managing Director of Institutional Sales and Adam Harrington as Managing Director of Retail Sales of Sky Capital LLC, the firm's U.S.-based brokerage entity.Mr. Dirks, a legendary Wall Street securities analyst, will be responsible for building Sky Capital's institutional sales efforts in the United States. Formerly of Dirks & Co., a well-known research and brokerage firm, Mr. Dirks grew to prominence when he uncovered the Equity Funding fraud in 1973, which led to a landmark legal victory before the U.S. Supreme Court."Ray Dirks provides an enormous amount of experience and acumen in the financial services arena. As Sky Capital builds its operations he will be an integral part of our growth," said Michael Recca, president of Sky Capital LLC.Mr. Dirks is bringing with him a core group of skilled professionals to accelerate the firm's institutional reach and will be adding capable, experienced and senior level executives to his staff.Adam Harrington has been named to the position of Managing Director- Retail Sales. He will be responsible for spearheading the growth of Sky Capital's retail sales operation in New York.Following approval by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Great Britain, Mr. Harrington will also take on responsibility for the Company's brokerage initiative in the United Kingdom, where Sky Capital Holdings Ltd recently floated a successful initial public offering on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange (SKY.L). He will also be developing sales strategies for the firm in other European markets. Mr. Harrington has also brought with him additional experienced investment sales professionals to facilitate the launch of the company's retail sales activities in the United States.Mr. Harrington has considerable experience in the securities industry having held senior positions with a variety of companies. From January 2000 to August 2002 he was Senior Vice-President of the Thornwater Company, an investment bank. During 1999 Adam was President and CEO of Internet retailers, Catalogue.com, Inc. and DVDflix.com, Inc. From 1995-1999 he was a registered representative and an equity owner of New York-based broker/dealer, Roan Capital Partners. He also has experience in working in the Emerging Markets Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has a degree in International Business from Hofstra University of New York.Ross Mandell, CEO Sky Capital Holdings Ltd, commented:
"I am delighted to announce the appointment of Adam Harrington to Sky Capital's senior management team. He is an immensely capable executive with experience at the highest management levels. I am confident that he is the right person to execute our strategy of expanding Sky's sales operations within both the U.S. and European markets. Following our recent successful listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange I believe that a new chapter is opening in the corporate history of Sky Capital. People of Adam's caliber and experience are ideally suited to help us expand on our existing successes."About Sky Capital HoldingsSky Capital Holdings Ltd. is a recently incorporated company established to provide financial and investment advisory services to corporate clients and private individuals both in the United States and the United Kingdom, and eventually the rest of Europe. The Company has two wholly owned subsidiaries: Sky Capital LLC in the United States, and Sky Capital Ltd. in the UK. Based in two of the most important financial centres in the world – New York and London – Sky Capital Holdings addresses the need for financial advice and working capital customized for small and medium sized companies with market capitalisations of $10 million to $100 million. |
