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I met Fred through my high school friend Scott Isherwood who worked with Fred for many years. Scott graduated 2 years earlier than me from Bayshore High School in Bradenton, FL and went on to Dartmouth. I followed to the north to Cornell two years later. We stayed in touch over the years. When I was looking to refinance National Wine & Spirits’ debt in the late 1990s, I consulted with Scott who at the time was part of the ING debt/capital markets group that Fred led. We ended up doing our $110 million bond offering with former Drexel folks at DLJ. Later in 2006, when I created Taliera to buy spirits and beverage brands and companies, I worked with Scott and Fred to create a SPAC “Special Purpose Acquisition Company” to raise capital. Fred was a great supporter of my efforts and gave me good counsel and made incredible introductions to the private equity community on my behalf. When my partner, the late Summerfield “Skeeter” Johnston, was on the fence about doing the SPAC, Fred and Scott met us in January 2007 in Palm Beach at the Breakers for a great discussion on the market, liquidity and SPACs in general. We left that meeting and decided to move forward. Although we ended up pulling our SPAC after the roadshow and the first wobble of the mortgage markets in February of 2007, Fred continued to support my efforts to raise capital and find deals.
Much has been written about Fred’s role as CEO of Drexel Burnham Lambert during the Milken days, however, Fred had a long, successful career after that and influenced many up and coming finance people as well as entrepreneurs like myself. Fred lived a long time fighting multiple myeloma, undergoing treatments and still having the time to meet with companies to advise them on finance and capital raising. I last saw Fred in his office at Morgan Joesph in July. I was putting funding together for another start-up liquor company. I know Fred will be missed greatly by his family and colleagues. From my perspective, I’m glad I had the opportunity to work with him and to learn. Rest in peace Fred.
Here are a couple of links to stories on Fred’s passing:
