Goldman seeks to boost merchant banking division

Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is finally embracing its status as a private equity giant.
The firm’s top executives in recent months have laid out plans to raise more client funds for private investing and rely less on its own balance sheet. As part of that effort, the bank is looking to consolidate the investing activities of multiple units across the firm to add more heft to its merchant banking division, according to people briefed on the matter. A related announcement was set for as soon as Monday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman is pulling together four separate units, including the special situations group from its trading division, to create a larger entity that will invest in private companies, real estate and other deals. Leslie Shribman, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman, declined to comment on the move.
“There actually is a very, very significant alternatives asset manager inside Goldman Sachs,” which has operated from a number of different units in the past, Chief Executive Officer David Solomon told Bloomberg Television in April, when asked whether he aimed to create something akin to Blackstone Group LP. “We see opportunities to expand what we’re doing for clients in that business and be a little more focused on growing our client franchise around those activities.”