TRIBUTES flooded in yesterday for star investment banker and chairman and chief executive of Lazard, Bruce Wasserstein, who died on Wednesday.<br /><br />The celebrated Wall Street dealmaker was hospitalised on Sunday due to an irregular heartbeat and had been said to be recovering until the news of his death.<br /><br />He worked right up until his last few days, advising Kraft on its $16bn (£10.2bn) bid for Cadbury. <br /><br />Kraft sent its deepest sympathies to Wasserstein’s family and friends.<br /><br />“He was a trusted adviser and will be missed dearly,” it said.<br /><br />In London, Cass Business School professor Scott Moeller said that “the combined wisdom of what he had in his head is more that what many firms alone had”.<br /><br />Francis Aquila, a lawyer with the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell said he was a “true giant in the mergers and acquisitions world”, adding “it is really hard to think of him not being there any more.”<br /><br />“He was a great tactician,” said Felix Rohatyn, a former Lazard executive who knew Wasserstein for four decades. “He was extremely smart. He scared people actually.”<br /><br />Shares of Lazard closed down 1.1 per cent yesterday at $42.79 in New York, as analysts said that Wasserstein’s death left major questions about the direction and leadership of the investment bank he headed.
Friday 16 October 2009 1:00am
Death of star banker and Lazard boss Wasserstein is mourned on Wall Street
