Lazard acquires minority stake in Salomon Sisters – Bloomberg

Independence Point Advisors LLC, the investment banking startup known by the nickname Salomon Sisters, formed a partnership with Lazard Ltd., Bloomberg News reported Nov. 22.

New York-based Independence Point has three main businesses: strategic advice including M&A, capital markets and consulting on risks ranging from cybersecurity to geopolitics. Lazard bought a minority stake in Independence Point and will be its exclusive partner on M&A assignments, handling all execution, said Bloomberg.

Independence Point was founded by Anne Clarke Wolff, former chairman of Bank of America Corp.'s global corporate and investment banking. Wolff's leadership team includes Terri Lecamp, who founded Plainfield Asset Management LLC and most recently was COO at Melody Capital Partners LP, and Siobhan MacDermott, a specialist in cybersecurity and related risks.

Independence Point has eight staff, with plans to add three or four more employees in the next 30 days, the news outlet reported. Moreover, the firm is building a team of experts to give advice in areas such as human capital and environmental, social and governance, and it is applying to become a registered broker/dealer.

Peter Orszag, Lazard's head of financial advisory, and CEO Ken Jacobs saw partnering with Independence Point "as a way to help modernize the 173-year-old firm," according to the report.