Hi, Aaron Weinman here. Ken Griffin, the founder of Citadel, is moving the firm's global headquarters to Miami from Chicago.
And, let's not forget our Banker of the Week!
Let's get into it.
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1. Hedge fund Citadel and the market-maker business Citadel Securities are moving to Miami. But it is not closing offices in its current HQ Chicago.
Citadel founder Ken Griffin told employees in a Thursday memo that he had recently moved to Miami and was keen to expand the company's presence in the city.
Griffin's decision comes after he repeatedly expressed concerns about crime rates in Chicago and frustrations with the city and Illinois state's leadership.
"We're getting to the point that if things don't change, we're gone," Griffin told Bloomberg in May. "Things aren't changing."
Griffin also said "many" of Citadel's Chicago teams had asked to relocate to Miami and New York, among other offices around the world.
A Citadel employee has been stabbed, shootings have happened near the homes of some employees, and even Griffin's car was nearly hijacked.
"Talent wants to live in cities where they feel safe," Citadel spokesperson Zia Ahmed told Insider. He noted that over the past decade, the firms' principals and employees had driven billions in tax revenue to Illinois and Chicago, adding that Griffin had donated more than $600 million to educational, cultural, medical, and civic organizations.
Citadel's not the only firm drawn to the balmier climes of Florida. Goldman Sachs and Blackstone have unveiled plans to open offices in Florida thanks in part to lower state taxes.
Chicago, however, remains important to Citadel. Griffin recalled in the memo the "incredible civic pride" he felt when the firm opened its doors in Chicago in 1990.
The move to Miami, and construction of the new HQ, will take some years. It won't disrupt Citadel's expansion plans in New York. The first of its New York teams are moving to new digs at 425 Park Avenue in the coming months.
Read more on why Citadel's headed south in this report from Alyson Velati and Dakin Campbell.
And for more on companies' love affair with Miami, check out these reads:
- Miami's tech scene is having a moment
- Miami: The tropical Silicon Valley
- Miami's the home of Bitcoin 2022
In other news:
2. Texas is also fielding increased interest from Wall Street firms. Goldman Sachs' decision to create 5,000 jobs in Texas is the latest example of a financial institution turning to the Lone Star State for talent. It comes as Texas transforms into a hotbed for tech-savvy folks.
3. Staffers at Wells Fargo are forging ahead with an unprecedented union effort. Here's a look inside the bank employees' long, uphill battle to unionize.
4. Lawyers hate their jobs, and they're desperate to quit. Some are so miserable in their roles, but they're scared to quit for myriad reasons, from parental disappointment to the need to pay back sizable student loans.
5. Unlike lawyers that need to pay their loans, ChangPeng Zhao doesn't "care much about money." The CEO of crypto exchange Binance is pretty comfy with a net worth of $18.5 billion, but that's down from $96 billion just a few months ago. He's also more controlling of the company than one might expect.
6. Another individual who's probably not lacking in the bank account is Deutsche Bank's CEO Christian Sewing, who's waiving a bit of his bonus. Sewing and his top team are lowering their extra pay to show that management at the German bank is taking some of the blame for the use of unapproved messaging apps, the Financial Times reported.
7. ValueWorks founder Charles Lemonides reckons Netflix is "very solid." The hedge fund has returned about 24% this year. Netflix, meanwhile, just confirmed another round of layoffs.
8. Fintech startup Bolt offered to buy back shares from laid-off employees. These are the same former staffers the company encouraged to take out risky loans for the stock options. Here's a peek at the leaked email.
9. A former McDonald's cook nabbed $20 million for a startup called Tapcheck. The fintech enables hourly workers to "clock out and cash out." Here's a look at the pitch deck.
10. And here's our Friday Banker of the Week. Meet Uzair Dossani, a multi-decade dealmaking veteran with private investment firm Intermediate Capital Group.
Dossani just wrapped up a deal for medical device company Seaway Logistics, and in an interview with Insider, he dubbed it a "jewel" of a business.
Before joining ICG, Dossani worked at a few private-equity shops including Warburg Pincus and Charlesbank Capital Partners where he notched up a series of transactions for middle-market companies.
Here's how Dossani is applying his investment strategy at ICG.
If you know of any bankers we should feature in our Banker of the Week series, please email me at [email protected].
Done deals:
- Evinced, a software company, just bagged a $38 million Series B funding round led by Insight Partners.
- Investment firm Tikehau Capital's SPAC Pegasus Entrepreneurs announced its combination with European sports betting platform FL Entertainment. FL and Pegasus have raised over $650 million in this transaction.
Curated by Aaron Weinman. Tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @aaronw11. Edited by Lisa Ryan (tweet @lisarya) and Jordan Parker Erb (tweet @jordanparkererb).