TRAILER | EPISODE 1 | EPISODE 2 | EPISODE 3 | EPISODE 4 | EPISODE 5 | EPISODE 6
IFR is excited to announce a new podcast looking back at some of the biggest – and most ground-breaking – deals in capital markets history.
The Syndicate launches in April with Google’s 2004 initial public offering, a deal that tried – and failed – to revolutionise the way companies go public.
Episodes will be released weekly, and will also cover deals such as the first Eurobond from 1963, the disastrous sale of BP shares in 1987, the securitisation of David Bowie’s back catalogue in the late nineties, the first swap between the World Bank and IBM, as well as the first-ever green bond.
Each episode is free to listen to and will relive the drama, the tension and the wider legacy of each deal through the people that made them happen.
EPISODE ONE: Google's revolutionary IPO auction
When Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin came to plan the search engine's IPO in 2004 they were not looking to follow the standard approach to listing. The auction IPO they pioneered tried – and failed – to take on Wall Street. Along the way they met resistance from big banks, upset regulators with their loose lips and left many investors confused with the revolutionary method of selling stock. In the short term the revolution failed, but 20 years on IPO auctions are all the rage.
Read more on Episode One
EPISODE TWO: The disastrous 1987 BP share sale
The 1987 stock market crash came at the worst possible time for some of the world’s biggest banks – just as they were on the hook for the largest share sale ever seen. The UK government faced an impossible dilemma: pull the deal or let banks go under.
Read more on Episode Two
EPISODE THREE: The birth of the Eurobond market
A plucky group of visionaries persuaded an Italian motorway operator to take a gamble on a new idea in 1963. In the process they helped create a market that today is worth around $30trn.
Read more on Episode Three
EPISODE FOUR: IBM and the birth of the swap market
When the World Bank turned to IBM with a novel bit of financial engineering that would help it save vital projects in the developing world, it inadvertently kickstarted a market that a generation later would bring the global economy close to collapse.
Read more on Episode Four
EPISODE FIVE: World Bank and the first green bond
How the sleepy financial market of Stockholm gave birth to one of the biggest innovations in 21st century finance – and helped channel hundreds of billions of dollars to saving the planet.
Read more on Episode Five
EPISODE SIX: David Bowie and Bowie Bonds
This episode tells the story of how Bowie Bonds came together. From their origin in a deal signed in the 1960s to their launch almost three decades later – and on to the legacy they created.
Read more on Episode Six
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