Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Joins Wall Street Investment Bank



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September 2, 2014 9:05 am


(WSJ) – Eric Cantor plans to join boutique investment bank Moelis MC -0.69% & Co., as the recently defeated House majority leader embarks on a new career on Wall Street.
Mr. Cantor, 51 years old, will be a vice chairman and board member at the firm, effective this week, he and Moelis founder Ken Moelis said in a joint interview on Monday.
Mr. Cantor, a Virginia Republican, lost his seat in Congress when he was defeated in a June primary. Rather than continue as majority leader, he stepped down from the post last month.
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At Moelis, Mr. Cantor will help the firm, which was formed in 2007 and has offices overseas, compete for business and advise corporate and investor clients on takeovers and other deals.
Mr. Moelis said he is hiring Mr. Cantor for his “judgment and experience” and ability to open doors—and not just for help navigating regulatory and political waters in Washington. Still, expertise in such matters is likely to be valuable given how heavily they can weigh on the minds of corporate executives contemplating deals.
“I have no need for a political figurehead,” Mr. Moelis said. “What I want is a partner.”
Mr. Cantor was defeated in the primary by a little-known, underfunded college professor in one of the most surprising political upsets in recent memory. Mr. Cantor was widely viewed as the favorite to succeed John Boehner as House Speaker when the Ohio Republican steps aside.
Mr. Cantor has long been seen as a liaison of sorts between the GOP and Wall Street, which also has been a big campaign contributor.
Since 2012, he has raised nearly $1.4 million from financial firms and their employees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the most of any industry. Big donors to the former congressman include investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc.GS +0.10% and private-equity firm Blackstone Group BX +0.23% LP.
During his congressional tenure, Mr. Cantor cultivated close ties with the heads of several large companies, including in the financial sector.
Moelis & Co. is coming of age as more mergers-and-acquisitions business is migrating away from larger firms such as UBS AG UBSN.VX +0.24% , where Mr. Moelis was an executive, and toward a newer crop of smaller investment banks that pitch themselves as independent of the conflicts of interest that can arise at larger institutions competing in multiple lines of business.
Mr. Moelis took his firm public in April, and in a sign of investors’ enthusiasm for the boutique model, its shares have risen nearly 40% since then, giving it a market value of nearly $2 billion.
Messrs. Moelis and Cantor, who have known each other for more than three years, began discussing the possibility of working together shortly before July Fourth, Mr. Cantor said. They were having brunch with their wives in Los Angeles and Mr. Moelis, also a Republican, was giving Mr. Cantor career advice when it occurred to him that the two should work together.
The talks intensified in late July, said Mr. Cantor, who noted that he held discussions about joining several other organizations—on Wall Street and off—though none as serious as those with Moelis.
Mr. Cantor, who will continue to live in Virginia, will open a new office for the firm in Washington, in addition to having an office at the company’s headquarters in New York City.
Moelis will pay Mr. Cantor a base salary of $400,000 and an initial cash payment of $400,000, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The firm is also granting Mr. Cantor $1 million in shares that vest over a five-year period. In 2015, Mr. Cantor is slated to receive a minimum $1.2 million cash-incentive payment and $400,000 in shares, according to the filing.
Moelis pays each of its executive officers a $400,000 base salary, according to a March SEC filing.
Mr. Cantor was first elected to Congress in 2000 after a nine-year stint in the Virginia House of Delegates. In his second term, he landed a coveted seat at the Republican leadership table, propelling him into the highest ranks of the party. He earned a reputation as one of the hardest working members of Congress and often volunteered to cajole stubborn GOP colleagues into supporting controversial legislation.
As the No. 2 Republican in the House, Mr. Cantor was thrust into the national spotlight as one of President Barack Obama’s most relentless critics on Capitol Hill.
He also had a delicate relationship with Mr. Boehner, stepping in to prevent the speaker from cutting a deficit-reduction deal with the president that rank-and-file Republicans might reject because of tax increases in the package. Since that fight, the two have worked more closely together.
The Richmond native’s new career represents something of a return to his roots. Mr. Cantor worked for his family’s real-estate development firm before going to Congress. His wife, Diana, meanwhile, worked at Goldman and serves on several corporate boards. She also chairs the board of trustees for the Virginia Retirement System.
Despite rumblings that he may run for governor of Virginia in 2017 or return to politics at some point, Mr. Cantor said he is focused on his new career learning the investment banking business and providing clients with quality counsel.
“I’ve got a lot to learn” he said. “I’m very focused on my next step.”
http://online.wsj.com/articles/eric-...ank-1409630638


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