Rockefellers and Rothschilds unite

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May 29, 2012 11:46 pm
Rockefellers and Rothschilds unite
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/efe93494-a9a3 ... abdc0.html

By Daniel Schäfer in London

Two of the best-known business dynasties in Europe and the US will
come together after Lord Jacob Rothschild's listed investment trust
and Rockefeller Financial Services agreed to form a strategic
partnership.

RIT Capital Partners is to buy a 37 per cent stake in the
Rockefeller's wealth advisory and asset management group for an
undisclosed sum, giving Lord Rothschild's London-listed trust a
much sought-after foothold in the US.

The transatlantic union brings together David Rockefeller, 96, and
Lord Rothschild, 76 – two family patriarchs whose personal
relationship spans five decades.

The Rockefeller group traces its roots back to 1882 when John D.
Rockefeller established one of the world's first family offices
dedicated to investing his wealth. It has since developed into a
provider of wealth and asset management services to other families,
foundations and institutions. It is majority-owned by the 19th
century oil magnate's family and has $34bn of assets under
administration.

The partnership with RIT will focus on setting up investment funds,
eyeing joint acquisitions of wealth and asset managers and granting
each other non-executive directorships.

RIT Capital Partners is minority-owned by Lord Rothschild and its
net assets of £1.9bn are spread across global investments from
public equities to government bonds and private equity.

The deal stemmed from a meeting two years ago when Mr Rockefeller
introduced Lord Rothschild to the US group's chief executive,
Reuben Jeffery.

In a follow-up meeting one year later at Lord Rothschild's office
at Spencer House in London, the financier won Mr Jeffery's blessing
for opening talks to buy a stake in the Rockefeller group.

He then launched long negotiations with Société Générale Private
Banking, which has owned the shareholding since 2008.

The French bank's wealth management arm has had several suitors for
the minority stake – estimated to be worth less than £100m – but
Lord Rothschild was the only one supported by the Rockefellers.

Lord Rothschild concentrated on RIT Capital Partners three decades
ago after he fell out with his cousin Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and
disposed of his stake in NM Rothschild, the family's UK branch.

Sir Evelyn at the time ran NM Rothschild, which rose to fame in
1815 when Nathan Meyer Rothschild made a fortune buying British
government bonds in anticipation of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.

Baron David de Rothschild, chairman of the Rothschild Group, is
currently bringing the UK-based investment bank under a joint roof
with the French family operations.

At the same time Lord Rothschild launched an investment partnership
in March with the Franco-Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild
Group, which is yet another separate branch of the sprawling
banking dynasty.

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