Is Bruce Wasserstein squandering Lazard’s profits on overpaid investment bankers again?
A squabble has erupted between Wasserstein and his British counterpart Michel David-Weill over whether there were actual profits at the venerable bank, or losses.
In an exchange of their letters – disclosed yesterday in the Financial Times – David-Weill insists there was a financial loss of about $150 million last year.
“A loss of this magnitude may impair the value of Lazard’s goodwill,” one David-Weill letter stated, according to the FT.
In rebuttal, Wasserstein wrote back that David-Weill was all wet and that accountants at Deloitte showed Lazard’s profit in 2003, before distributions to partners, was $249 million, a drop from $287 million in the prior year.
Wasserstein’s letter to partners added: “I urge you to once again this year treat the notice and letter with grace, humor and tolerance.”
Last year the two men got into a flap over David-Weill’s complaint that Wasserstein paid too much to recruit and retain bankers.
David-Weill fears it is happening again, and could be funded by dipping into the partners’ capital accounts.
David-Weill remains chairman despite handing over executive control of the firm two years ago to Wasserstein.
Sources close to Wasserstein’s accounting of the finances say that the firm distributed to non-working partners a total of $22 million in cash and $47 million in illiquid benefits, associated with weakness of the dollar.
David-Weill is expected to have considerable influence when partners delve into the issue of whether to sell Lazard to outsiders or renew Wasserstein’s contract.