Today’s headlines provide the information that Bloomberg L.P., Mayor Bloomberg‘s private company, and one of the Mayor’s earliest business partners, Merrill Lynch (which provided the “seed money” for the venture) are “parting company.”
The New York Times reports that the “deal … places a public value on the mayor’s private company, Bloomberg L.P. That figure: At least $22.5 billion.”
The article continues, “Mr. Bloomberg is expected to buy Merrill Lynch’s 20 percent stake in Bloomberg L.P., the financial data and news provider he founded, for about $4.5 billion, people briefed on the deal said Wednesday. The sale will be handled through the trust that manages the mayor’s assets.”
Bloomberg easily spent $73 million on his election campaign in 2001 and more than that in 2005 on his re-election campaign, when presumably people of New York City were familiar with him.
The Times’ article omits mention of the what & why of the “trust.” The “trust” was put in place when Michael Bloomberg became Mayor of New York City. It was suggested by a city regulatory agency at the time he was running that Bloomberg divest himself from Bloomberg L.P. – advice he quickly ignored. With the news today clarifying the company’s worth, we can see why.