Moelis IPO offers founders riches on $1.6 bn valuation

NEW YORK: The Wall Street veteran who has helped companies from HJ Heinz Co to NYSE Euronext decide the best time to sell is taking his 7-year-old Moelis & Co public on Wednesday.

He’s seeking a valuation of as much as $1.58 billion for the New York-based investment bank, while also structuring the sale to ensure he retains control of the firm. Ken Moelis, 55, and his partners will reap as much as 80% of the initial public offering proceeds in one-time payments, the prospectus shows. Instead of funding growth, investors are being asked to reward Moelis’s rainmakers, said Jeff Sica, president of Sica Wealth Management.

While the firm was initially offering shares at a discount to Evercore Partners and Greenhill & Co, that gap disappeared as shares of both tumbled in the past 10 days. Moelis is scheduled to price the IPO on tonight, raising as much as $212 million by selling 7.3 million Class A shares for $26 to $29 apiece, according to its latest filing. Moelis will hold 97% of the voting rights at the company by owning a majority of Class B shares, which are given 10 votes each.