An article on Bloomberg yesterday announced what many in SPAC Land have been wondering after UBS acquired Credit Suisse – where was Niron Stabinsky, the Head of SPACs at Credit Suisse, going to land?
The answer is Banco Santander SA, in what appears to be a massive lift of most (or nearly all) of Credit Suisse’s banking team. Included in the group heading to Santander is David Hermer, who was Credit Suisse’s global head of equity and debt capital markets, and Steve Geller, who was head of mergers and acquisitions.
As for SPACs, Credit Suisse has always been a powerhouse SPAC bank, topping or ranking near the top of the league tables. More importantly, Niron Stabinsky and Credit Suisse underwrote and advised some of the biggest sponsor teams names which included Bill Foley, Chinh Chu, Barry Sternlicht, Tom Farley, and of course, Chamath Palihapitya, who is arguably the most recognizable name. All were guided by Stabinsky and the Credit Suisse team.
Meanwhile, Santander presents a unique opportunity for the former Credit Suisse team in that by being off the well worn path of the usual bulge bracket banks, they can move the entire banking group over without any of the usual conflicts of incumbent star bankers with existing franchises. That would be nearly impossible at any of the other more obvious banks.
This is a big win for Santander, which should be a big SPAC player going forward. Naturally, everyone will be on “garden leave” for a few months, but you can be sure to see the Santander name crop up in at least a few de-SPACs come this Fall.
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