Goldman’s Michelsen to Depart for Qatalyst Partners

(Bloomberg) -- Peter Michelsen, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s head of activism and shareholder advisory for the Americas, has left the firm to join independent investment bank Qatalyst Partners, according to people familiar with the matter.

Michelsen, 42, will become Qatalyst's head of activism and shareholder advisory, and will be based in San Francisco, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. He will act as a senior adviser to Qatalyst's clients on activist defense, contested situations and defense preparedness, they said. He is expected to join the firm in mid-2020, the people said.

Michelsen is the latest banker to leave Goldman's activism defense division. In August, Steven Barg, Goldman's top banker within that unit left to join activist investor Elliott Management Corp. He was replaced in the role by Avinash Mehrotra.

Michelsen was appointed co-head of the Americas division in 2018. He became the sole head after David Dubner was named global head of M&A structuring in August last year.

Representatives for Goldman and Qatalyst declined to comment, while Michelsen couldn't be reached for comment.

Goldman Sachs built its activism and shareholder advisory practice over a decade ago. It has been a perennial leader in assisting boards and management teams on activism defense. It was the top financial adviser in 2019 on such work, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Qatalyst, founded in 2008, has advised on some of the largest technology deals in recent years, including LinkedIn Corp.'s $26 billion takeover by Microsoft Corp. in 2016.

To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Deveau in New York at sdeveau2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Fion Li, Jonas Bergman

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