The veteran banker resigned last month from private equity investor Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, but his departure memo read like a thinly veiled dismissal notice: “Because he wishes to remain in the New York area, Mike Levitt will be leaving the firm.” The press took the news, buried in a 525-word memo, to mean that Levitt was getting the boot for having led Dallas-based Hicks Muse into hundreds of millions of dollars of soured telecom deals. After all, it’s not unusual for firms based outside New York to have partners on Wall Street. And if the firm, which is scaling back its New York effort, insisted on a Texas relocation, why would a 42-year-old give up a lucrative partnership just to avoid moving? Despite the skepticism from scribes, Levitt stands by the memo. His exit “had nothing to do with either the successful or unsuccessful investments I was involved in. My family loves where we live [in northern New Jersey]. Moving to Texas isn’t consistent with that.” California, however, might have been a different story, he says. Still not convinced by his explanation? To be sure, Levitt did have his share of losers at Hicks Muse. He advocated investing in now-bankrupt Rhythms NetConnection and struggling outfits such as RCN and Globix. Then again, he wasn’t the lead partner in high-profile busts like Teligent. And Levitt helped Hicks Muse snare big winners in AMFM and International Home Foods. “Everything, other than two days of press, has been great,” says Levitt, adding that he is sorting through job offers while enjoying the extra time for his family and charity work. Look for him to reemerge within commuting distance of the Garden State early next year.
