Ahead of an IPO later this year, boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners has completed a spinoff of its asset management business, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Perella completed the process at the start of March, the person said. The new business, which is now known as Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management, will be led by Chris Bittman, who joined PWP in 2009. Bittman has been head of Agility, a $9 billion unit that creates investment strategies for outside firms such as endowment funds and foundations, and will continue to oversee that business at the new entity, says the source—an indication that Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management may be placing particular focus on its outsourcing investing line.
The asset management business was previously headed by Tarek Abdel Meguid and Aaron Hood, who will both remain Perella Weinberg Parters Capital Management.
The newly spun-off entity is also weighing “strategic alternatives” to make its public markets investing strategies independent, the source says, though the individual did not clarify whether that may lead to a spin-off, sale, or other action. That segment accounts for some $2.5 billion of the new firm’s $13.4 billion assets under management, and includes funds that cover diversified equities and macro outlooks on investing.
Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management has three primary lines of business: public markets, private markets, and Agility.
The news comes amid reports from Bloomberg that Perella’s advisory and investment banking has filed confidentially for an initial public offering slated for 2019. The IPO will potentially value the firm at $1.5 billion, with Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan underwriting the deal, according to reports.
Perella Weinberg declined to comment.