Needham & Company
Encyclopedia
Needham & Company is an independent investment bank and asset management firm specializing in advisory services and financings for growth companies. Needham & Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Needham Group, which also operates a private equity
investment business and an investment management
business.
Since its founding, the firm has acted as lead or co-manager in more than 500 public offerings, including 145 IPOs, raising in excess of $32.3 billion, and as placement agent
on over 65 private offerings as of 2007.
The firm, which is headquartered in New York City
also has offices in Boston, Massachusetts, Menlo Park
, and San Francisco, California
.
Among its many other assignments, Needham was an underwriter for the initial public offering for Google
in 2005.
In October 2009, a former Needham Chief Operating Officer, Raj Rajaratnam
, the billionaire founder of Galleon Group
, was charged with insider trading a decade after leaving the company; his work at Needham was never called into question.
s and hedge fund
s, most notably, The Needham Growth Fund (NEEGX), which has been rated a top-performing mutual fund since its inception.
Needham Asset Management, another affiliate, controls Needham Capital Partners, which manages private equity
funds that invest primarily in growth companies.
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
investment business and an investment management
Investment management
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors...
business.
Since its founding, the firm has acted as lead or co-manager in more than 500 public offerings, including 145 IPOs, raising in excess of $32.3 billion, and as placement agent
Private placement agent
Private placement agent or placement agent is a firm assisting either funds managers in the alternative asset class or entrepreneurs/private companies Private placement agent or placement agent is a firm assisting either funds managers in the alternative asset class (e.g. private equity ,...
on over 65 private offerings as of 2007.
The firm, which is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
also has offices in Boston, Massachusetts, Menlo Park
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
, and San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
History
Needham was founded in 1985 by George Needham, Raymond Godfrey, and David Townes. George Needham was formerly a managing director of First Boston Corporation, where he established its business development and technology investment banking groups. Raymond Godfrey was vice president of business development at First Boston beginning in 1977. He left Needham in the 1990s but returned in 2000. David Townes, who also co-founded the firm, had previously been an investment banker at Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb focused on technology companies.Among its many other assignments, Needham was an underwriter for the initial public offering for Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
in 2005.
In October 2009, a former Needham Chief Operating Officer, Raj Rajaratnam
Raj Rajaratnam
Raj Rajaratnam is an American former hedge fund manager and founder of the Galleon Group, a New York-based hedge fund management firm. On October 16, 2009, he was arrested by the FBI on allegations of insider trading, which also caused the Galleon Group to close. He stood trial in U.S. v...
, the billionaire founder of Galleon Group
Galleon Group
Galleon Group was one of the largest hedge fund management firms in the world, managing over $7 billion, before closing in October 2009. The firm was at the center of a 2009 insider trading scandal that resulted in investors pulling capital from the firm rapidly...
, was charged with insider trading a decade after leaving the company; his work at Needham was never called into question.
Business
The company offers a full line of financial services, including brokerage, asset management, and research. In all its activities, Needham, focuses primarily on serving emerging growth industries and their investors.Investment banking
Within its investment banking division, Needham & Company provides various advisory and fiancing services, which include:- Private placementPrivate placementPrivate placement is a funding round of securities which are sold without an initial public offering, usually to a small number of chosen private investors...
s - Public equity offeringsInitial public offeringAn initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
- High yield debt offerings
- Mergers and acquisitionsMergers and acquisitionsMergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
advisory services - Institutional sales and tradingMarket makerA market maker is a company, or an individual, that quotes both a buy and a sell price in a financial instrument or commodity held in inventory, hoping to make a profit on the bid-offer spread, or turn. From a market microstructure theory standpoint, market makers are net sellers of an option to be...
and equity research
Asset management
Needham Investment Management, another wholly owned subsidiary of The Needham Group, offers several mutual fundMutual fund
A mutual fund is a professionally managed type of collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors to buy stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities.- Overview :...
s and hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
s, most notably, The Needham Growth Fund (NEEGX), which has been rated a top-performing mutual fund since its inception.
Needham Asset Management, another affiliate, controls Needham Capital Partners, which manages private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
funds that invest primarily in growth companies.
External links
- Needham & Company (company website)
- Needham Funds (company website)