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The 2016 Fintech Finance 35: Gerard von Dohlen

No. 8 Gerard von Dohlen, Partner, Broadhaven Capital Partners

By Peter Vasiliev

November 14, 2016

Fintech's Most Powerful Dealmakers of 2016

8. Gerard
von Dohlen

Partner

Broadhaven
Capital Partners

PNR

“Meet the Mystery Boutique Advising ICE on the NYSE Bid,” read an April 2011 Financial News headline. More than five years later, on September 26, Business Insider posted this one: “A Tiny Firm Just Snagged a Huge Payday on a Big Wall Street Deal.” The subject of both was Broadhaven Capital Partners, an investment bank co-founded in 2009 by Gerard von Dohlen that, with seven partners and more than 30 people overall, is considerably less tiny than it was in 2011 (with seven employees) and has almost stealthily attained elite status in financial technology M&A. The September 26 story was client CBOE Holdings’ $3.2 billion agreement to acquire Bats Global Markets. Just four days earlier trading technology company REDI Holdings, advised by Broadhaven, agreed to be bought by Thomson Reuters for an undisclosed price. “We do more deals than any bank of any size in this space,” says von Dohlen, 47. With a résumé that includes stints at Goldman Sachs Group, UBS Investment Bank, and Credit Suisse First Boston, von Dohlen started New York–based Broadhaven with Greg Phillips, an alum from UBS and Wasserstein Perella & Co. They first made their mark in exchange mergers, which have accelerated since von Dohlen left his previous position as global head of Goldman’s exchange, brokerage, and trading sector. Because ownership ties between banks and trading venues created potential conflicts of interest, Broadhaven seized the opportunity to be “a trusted, expert, independent adviser,” von Dohlen says. Broadhaven advised Bats on its 2013 merger with Direct Edge, and ICE on its $8.2 billion NYSE Euronext acquisition in 2013, Euronext’s $1.9 billion IPO in 2014, and ICE’s $5.2 billion purchase of Interactive Data Corp. in 2015. Deeper into the fintech realm, Broadhaven advised BondDesk Group on its 2013 sale to Tradeweb Markets (value undisclosed), execution management systems company Portware on its $265 million sale to FactSet Research Systems in 2015, and messaging platform Symphony Communication Services on a $100 million capital raise, also in 2015. As a window into “cutting-edge–bleeding-edge technologies,” von Dohlen says, Broadhaven has invested through an early-stage fund led by Phillips in such start-ups as peer-to-peer credit risk management firm PeerIQ and research distribution platform Street Contxt.

The 2016 Fintech Finance 35