A Facebook flag flies outside of JPMorgan’s offices. (REUTERS)
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There are more than 30 banks working on Facebook’s huge stock offering, but yesterday it seemed like there was only one: JPMorgan Chase.
Led by veteran banker Jimmy Lee, JPMorgan rolled out the welcome mat for the social-media giant yesterday at its Midtown headquarters, where visiting executives, including CFO David Ebersman, were greeted by a Facebook flag and a giant blue welcome banner.
The fanfare continued inside on the 50th floor, where hats, windbreakers and coffee-cup sleeves sporting the Facebook logo awaited. Lee was later spotted leaving the building wearing a Facebook jacket emblazoned with his last name.
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JPMorgan’s “jubilee,” as one banker described it, was part of Facebook’s Wall Street tour where bankers get to learn more about the company ahead of its IPO, scheduled for May 18.
Facebook execs yesterday visited three of their biggest bankers on the deal, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
“They wanted to get people psyched about the deal and to celebrate one of the most prestigious offerings of the year,” said one person familiar with JPMorgan’s thinking.
It’s not unusual for lead bankers to show their client love. Morgan Stanley bankers landed the IPO for streaming music company Pandora after wearing band T-shirts.
But JPMorgan’s splashy affair yesterday raised eyebrows as such displays are usually reserved for the bank leading the IPO — in this case, Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan and Goldman are also doing heavy lifting, while a number of other banks get a small piece of the action.
Executives at other banks described the pitch as “ostentatious” and “showy.”
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” sniffed one rival. “There’s no need for all the gimmicks.”
One banker at a rival firm wondered if JPMorgan “had balloons and a giant cake with Jimmy Lee inside ready to jump out.”
For the record, there was no cake.
Still, Facebook’s experience at JPMorgan stood in stark contrast to the company’s earlier 8 a.m. meeting with lead banker Morgan Stanley.
Facebook execs met on Morgan Stanley’s 6th-floor headquarters in Times Square for an hour before heading to JPMorgan. The last stop for the company was Goldman Sachs’ downtown offices at 200 West Street.
The sniping spilled over into other areas, with some suggesting that Morgan Stanley bankers showed some flash by flying first class to the Facebook meetings.
In response, one source said that bankers are expected to pay for their own tickets and aren’t billing those transportation costs back to Facebook.