Credit Suisse First Boston Maintains #1 Market Share in Technology Financings and M&A in 2000
Lead Manager for the Top Performing Initial Public Offerings
Palo Alto, January 8, 2001 - For the second consecutive year, Credit Suisse First Boston achieved #1 market share in both financings as well as mergers and acquisitions transactions for the technology industry.* The year's highlights include the following:
This #1 position is particularly notable given that it was achieved against a
backdrop of very volatile markets. "In markets like we are currently experiencing,
companies must make crucial judgments as to what strategic and financing alternatives
to consider, who are the right strategic partners, and what is the right time to
sell or to raise private or public capital," said Frank Quattrone, Managing Director
and Head of the Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group. "As a result, the value
of sound advice and credible research goes up. No other firm can match the experience
of our bankers, the credibility and bandwidth of our research team, or the power
of our global distribution and trading platform."
Not only did the Firm achieve the #1 position in 2000, its market share increased
dramatically following the market correction in April 2000 (from 18% to 31% in IPOs
and from 17% to 20% for follow-ons). "I'm especially pleased that we extended our
market share lead in an environment where we could really make a difference for
our clients," said Mr. Quattrone. CSFB effectively re-opened the IPO market after
the mid-April correction with the IPO of New Focus - the first IPO after April 14th
to price above an upwardly revised filing range.
The impact of the downturn in the market has not slowed the Group's overall business.
"The beauty of our business," continued Frank Quattrone, "is that we're strong in
all sectors, regions and products, so we are less vulnerable to market shifts. For
example, in 1999 we were very strong in Internet and IT services; in 2000 communications
equipment, software and semiconductors led the way. So even though the Internet
sector experienced a severe setback, our business this year more than doubled. Similarly,
a year ago IPOs and common stock offerings drove the business; now M&A and private
capital raising are the most active areas."
#1 Technology M&A Advisory Franchise
Credit Suisse First Boston's fully integrated technology M&A team has proven once
again its ability to maximize value for its clients' shareholders, realizing the
highest premiums on its sellside assignments, paying the lowest premiums on its
buyside assignments, and achieving unprecedented valuations for private companies.
"We are proud of our reputation for being very responsive to clients' needs and
for developing innovative strategies that have helped our clients redefine the landscape
in many technology sectors," said George Boutros, global head of CSFB's technology
M&A group.
The firm's technology advisory work demonstrates the cross-border, as well as the
cross-sector, teamwork at CSFB. Instrumental to its success is access to the firm's
extensive global resources and cooperation with colleagues in other banking sectors
and regions. As testimony to its capabilities, CSFB advised Lycos, an online network,
on its merger with Terra Networks, the leading Spanish ISP and content provider
and subsidiary of telecom giant Telefonica. The Lycos/Terra merger won one of Corporate
Finance magazine's highly-coveted "Deals of the Year" awards last month -- as the
"Best Deal for a Hi-Tech Issuer". It was "arguably the most important Internet alliance
this year" according to the publication. CSFB has played a clear leadership role
in the ongoing consolidation of the European Internet sector as well, having advised
on 4 of the top 5 Internet transactions in 2000, including the recently announced
merger of Freeserve and Wanadoo.
Landmark M&A assignments in 2000 included:
The Leader in Quality Technology Financings
In a year that tested the financing abilities of all investment banks, CSFB is proud
to have achieved not only the #1 position in terms of the number of IPOs, follow-ons
and equity private placements it completed, but in the overall quality of its transactions.
For example, CSFB lead-managed 7 of the 20 top performing IPOs and 17 of the top
50, in each case more than any competitor. These IPOs included Embarcadero Technologies,
the year's best technology IPO, as well as Handspring, McDATA, DDi Corporation and
New Focus. At an average appreciation of 78% in a volatile year such as 2000, these
17 IPOs underscore the Firm's intense focus on the quality of the companies it chooses
to underwrite. The aftermarket performance of its follow-on offerings is similarly
impressive, with the best track record from filing-to-pricing and pricing-to-current
in the industry.
"This past year, our team has clearly solidified CSFB's position as a global powerhouse
in technology financing and our reputation for high quality IPOs," said Bill Brady,
global head of Corporate Finance for the CSFB Technology Group. "Having focused
on technology banking for more than 20 years now, our group has the judgment and
expertise to provide sound advice even in turbulent markets." Whether it's launching
IPOs for first-of-a-kind companies such as Cisco, Corvis and Phone.com, or completing
"event" financings for giants like Hewlett-Packard, EMC and ASM Lithography, CSFB's
technology experts have more experience than anyone. This experience makes a difference
in volatile markets. For example, in early December with the NASDAQ at its lowest
point for the year, CSFB executed the Gemplus IPO on both NASDAQ and the Primary
Market of Euronext Paris SA. By leveraging its global market capabilities and integrated
multi-sector research team, the Gemplus IPO was successfully placed, trading up
25% on its first day and 62% by year end.
Landmark financing transactions in 2000 included:
IPOs:
Follow-Ons:
Equity Private Placements:
Convertible and Debt Financings:
Recognition by Independent Polls
The CSFB brand advantage is being increasingly recognized by respected third party
sources. A recent Reuters Survey of top institutional fund managers ranked CSFB
as the #1 firm overall and #1 in quality, due diligence, pricing and equitable allocation
of new issues, as well as aftermarket performance, quality of research product and
service in the aftermarket. In addition, Institutional Investor ranked CSFB #1 for
its technology sales team in 2000, International Finance Review awarded CSFB its
prestigious "Equity Linked House of the Year" award for 2000, and its Asian banking
team was just ranked as the "Best Technology House" of the year by Finance Asia
magazine.
"A hallmark of our strategy is an intense focus on quality," said Mr. Quattrone,
"the quality of our clients, our aftermarket performance and our service."
World Class Independent Technology Research
Credit Suisse First Boston's global technology research team, led by top-ranked
analyst Elliott Rogers, further enhanced its reputation as the largest, most credible
and insightful team on Wall Street. With 54 senior analysts worldwide covering over
500 companies, CSFB has more analysts in more regions, covering more sectors than
any other firm.
"Our analysts have more depth and breadth - critical bandwidth - which enables them
to focus and to produce superior research," said Elliott Rogers, head of global
Technology Research for CSFB. "Additionally, our analysts actually talk to one another!
Our integrated, cross-sector team approach, combined with individual analysts' strong
technical backgrounds, makes for far more comprehensive research coverage." Particularly
in light of Regulation FD, the importance of this form of primary research is heightened.
In the U.S. last year, CSFB's technology analysts were once again recognized by
the industry with 7 Institutional Investor All-America Research team awards, 8 Greenwich
Survey top-five rankings and 22 Reuters Survey top five rankings. They also garnered
3 Wall Street Journal "Best of the Street 2000" awards. In Europe, CSFB's Software
& Computer Services and Information Technology research teams were ranked #1 by
Reuters. The European team also claimed 2 Institutional Investor awards and 4 Extel
awards. CSFB's All-Asia Technology Research was ranked #1 by Institutional Investor
and The Asset 2000. The Asia team also received 3 Asiamoney top-three rankings.
A Global Powerhouse
The CSFB Technology Group now has over 600 employees - more than any other technology
group - making it better equipped than any other firm to scale with the growth of
the market and provide excellent service to its clients. With professionals in the
U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America, CSFB is well positioned to provide a full
range of investment banking services to emerging and established technology leaders
worldwide.
* Source: Securities Data Corporation. Excludes telecommunications services transactions;
includes all CSFB technology M&A transactions announced and financing transactions
completed between 1/1/00 - 12/31/00.
Important Information
These announcements are neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer
to buy any of these securities. These offerings are made only by the prospectuses.
Includes both Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette transactions
for the period January through December 2000. Copyright 2001 Credit Suisse First
Boston Corp. All rights reserved.
Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is a leading global investment banking firm serving
institutional, corporate, government and individual clients. CSFB's businesses include
securities underwriting, sales and trading, investment and merchant banking, financial
advisory services, investment research, venture capital, correspondent brokerage
services and online brokerage services. It operates in over 76 locations across
more than 37 countries and 6 continents, and has some 27,000 staff worldwide. The
Firm is a business unit of the Zurich based Credit Suisse Group, a leading global
financial services company.
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