Back in June, when the political career of Eric Cantor came to a sudden, stunning end at the hands of an unknown “tea-partier”, we commented that the biggest losers from Cantor’s ignoble fall from Congressional grace were his biggest donors. As showed back then, these were as follows:
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Less than three months later, their loss is Cantor’s gain, who after a long auction process has finally, and very expectedly, sold himself off to the highest bidder which as the WSJ reported overnight was none other than boutique M&A advisory firm, Moelis & Co. Per the WSJ, “Mr. Cantor, 51 years old, will be a vice chairman and board member at the firm, effective this week, he and Moelis founder Ken Moelis said in a joint interview on Monday.
At Moelis, Mr. Cantor will help the firm, which was formed in 2007 and has offices overseas, compete for business and advise corporate and investor clients on takeovers and other deals.
Mr. Moelis said he is hiring Mr. Cantor for his “judgment and experience” and ability to open doors—and not just for help navigating regulatory and political waters in Washington. Still, expertise in such matters is likely to be valuable given how heavily they can weigh on the minds of corporate executives contemplating deals.
“I have no need for a political figurehead,” Mr. Moelis said. “What I want is a partner.”
That surely has to be tied for one of the funniest lines of the day.
The rest of the story is well-known, and was extensively covered here previously: “Mr. Cantor has long been seen as a liaison of sorts between the GOP and Wall Street, which also has been a big campaign contributor. Since 2012, he has raised nearly $1.4 million from financial firms and their employees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the most of any industry. Big donors to the former congressman include investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP.
