NEW YORK (Reuters) – A new mergers and acquisitions advisory firm launched in 2022 by former Centerview Partners dealmakers, David Handler and David Neequaye, has achieved a major success by advising Cisco Systems on its $28 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Splunk.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Tidal Partners is a relatively small firm, employing only two dozen professionals, according to its website. Nevertheless, it served as the exclusive financial adviser to Cisco, while larger investment banking firms Qatalyst Partners and Morgan Stanley advised Splunk.
During their time at Centerview, Handler and Neequaye closely collaborated with Cisco, providing advice on several significant deals, such as Cisco’s $5 billion acquisition of NDS Group in 2012 and its $3.7 billion purchase of AppDynamics in 2017.
“We’ve known David (Handler) and his partner David (Neequaye) for a very long time. They did a great job for us, and so we’ve had that relationship for a long time,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins stated in an interview on Thursday.
Tidal Partners’ triumph coincides with a growing trend of technology bankers launching their own firms in response to a downturn in dealmaking across the sector. Earlier this week, three former Qatalyst Partners bankers established a technology-focused investment banking boutique called AXOM Partners, as reported by Reuters.
Handler and Neequaye played integral roles in the launch of Centerview’s technology advisory group in 2008. The group went on to provide guidance to several major technology companies, including Cisco, Qualcomm Inc, and Twilio.
Since its inception last year, Tidal Partners has advised on various transactions, including ServiceNow Inc’s acquisition of G2K Group and Bloom Energy’s $550 million convertible notes offering.
Before joining Tidal Partners, Handler, who had previously worked at UBS Group, initiated legal action against Centerview over a pay dispute following his departure.
(Reporting by Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
