Background Guggenheim advises clients on
mergers and acquisitions,
financial restructuring, capital structure and capital raising, and on other strategic and financial transactions. The firm advises corporate clients, family offices, governments, and special committees of Boards of Directors. The firm’s transactions range across industries including consumer and retail, energy, financial institutions, healthcare, industrials, technology, and media and telecommunications.
Advisory In October 2009, Guggenheim hired former
J.P. Morgan head of Media Investment Banking Mark Van Lith as Senior Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking and former
Apollo Global Management director and vice chairman
Henry Silverman as vice chairman of asset management. In January 2013, Guggenheim named former
Yahoo! interim CEO
Ross Levinsohn as CEO of
private equity unit Guggenheim Digital Media. In May and June 2013, the firm also hired
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s co-head of U.S.
leveraged finance capital markets Tom Stein, former
Barclays head of retail investment banking and vice chairman Andrew Taussig, as well as managing directors Spencer Hart, Matthew Pilla, Ken Harada and Ryan Mash. In September 2013, Guggenheim Securities was named a financial adviser to
Verizon in connection with its $130 billion acquisition of
Vodafone's 45% stake in
Verizon Wireless. In March 2014, Guggenheim Securities hired Eric Mandl as a Senior Managing Director focusing on Technology, Media and Telecom Investment Banking. In June 2016, they hired Joel Foote as a Senior Managing Director focusing on Energy Investment Banking. On December 17, 2015, it was reported that the company would
spin out its media properties into a new
holding company,
Eldridge Industries, owned by an investment group led by Guggenheim president
Todd Boehly, consisting of
Mediabistro,
Billboard and
The Hollywood Reporter, and
Dick Clark Productions. In April 2018, Invesco Ltd. announced that it completed its previously announced acquisition of Guggenheim Investments' exchange-traded funds (ETF) business, which consisted of $38.8 billion of assets under management (as of February 28, 2018) for $1.2 billion in cash. In October 2018, Guggenheim Securities was named the lead financial adviser to
Red Hat in connection with its $34 billion sale to
IBM. The Red Hat sale was, at the time, the largest software transaction in history. In September 2019, Donini was named to the additional role of Chief Operating Officer of Guggenheim Partners and Andrew Rosenfield, a managing partner, was appointed president. Also in September 2019, Guggenheim hired former Deputy United States Attorney and Director of the Division of Enforcement of the
Securities and Exchange Commission Robert S. Khuzami as a Managing Partner and Chief Legal Officer. In the private sector Khuzami was a partner at
Kirkland & Ellis LLP and worked at
Deutsche Bank AG, including as General Counsel for the Americas. Guggenheim was a financial advisor to the Directors of
Gilead Sciences during the acquisition of CymaBay for $32.50 per share in cash or a total equity value of $4.3 billion in February 2024. They were also advisor to Insight Sourcing in their sale to
Accenture earlier that year. In September 2023, Guggenheim was the co-manager for the initial public offering of
Arm Holdings, a portfolio company of the
Softbank Group at a valuation of $4.87 billion. In November 2024, the firm was retained by American sandwich chain
Jersey Mike's Subs as lead advisor on their sale to
Blackstone. This deal was valued at approximately $8 billion. In January 2025, Guggenheim advised Major League Baseball (
MLB) in its $9 billion debt restructuring deal in connection with
Main Street Sports Group. The firm's restructuring team offers services that include advising companies, governments, creditors, and financial sponsors on distressed M&A, recapitalizations, reorganizations, exchange offers, debt repurchases and capital raises across industries such as automotive, consumer products, energy, financial institutions, healthcare, real estate, gaming & leisure, manufacturing, media & communications, retail, shipping, steel and transportation. The firm competes with all investment banks that provide strategic advisory services. Main competitors include other leading independent advisory firms such as
Centerview, Hamilton Lane,
Evercore,
Greenhill & Co.,
Moelis & Company,
Lazard, and
Perella Weinberg Partners.
Investments In May 2009, Guggenheim Partners acquired a
controlling interest in financial services firm
Transparent Value LLC. In July 2009, it acquired Claymore Group, a firm known for its
Exchange-traded funds and
unit investment trusts. In December 2009, Guggenheim acquired a division of
Wellmark and renamed it Guggenheim Life & Annuity. In February 2010, Guggenheim Partners acquired Security Benefit Corp, parent company of Rydex Funds. In October 2011, it acquired the life insurance company EquiTrust from
FBL Financial Group. In 2012, Guggenheim affiliates acquired the US annuities business of Canadian insurers
Industrial Alliance and
Sun Life Financial. In July 2014, Guggenheim announced the launch of a representative office in Tokyo and the hiring of Atsuhito Sakai as Senior Managing Director and Guggenheim's Representative in Japan. Also in 2014, the firm acquired the London operations of Lazard Capital Markets. Guggenheim Securities expanded its investment banking business in July 2019 in Chicago with the hiring of two senior bankers from William Blair's technology group, James Suprenant and Scott Stevens. That September, Guggenheim bought a stake in the entertainment production company
Dick Clark Productions, which produces specials such as the
American Music Awards and the
Golden Globe Awards and other television programming. In January 2013, the company bought out the remainder of the
business-to-business media company
Prometheus Global Media and acquired
CardCash in November of the same year. In February 2014, Guggenheim Partners acquired the
Los Angeles Sparks of the
WNBA. In November 2021, it was reported that Guggenheim Investments, alongside the actor
Channing Tatum and fellow investment company
Endeavor, had agreed to backstop the planned $1 billion merger between Los Angeles-based
blank-check firm Bright Lights and
Manscaped. == See also ==