Perella Weinberg Partners
Perella Weinberg Partners is a global independent financial services firm focused primarily on investment banking advisory and related asset management services.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) is an independent financial services firm headquartered in New York City and focused principally on strategic and financial advisory. Its work includes mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, financing and capital-markets advice, liability management, shareholder engagement, activism-related transactions, and other complex corporate matters. The firm also operates an asset-management and outsourced-chief-investment-office business under the Agility brand. PWP was established in June 2006 by Joseph R. Perella, Peter A. Weinberg, and Terry Meguid, initially with offices in New York and London. Perella brought a long record in mergers and acquisitions, including the creation of Wasserstein Perella & Co. and senior leadership positions at Morgan Stanley. Weinberg had been chief executive of Goldman Sachs International and co-head of Goldman Sachs’s global investment banking division. The new firm raised more than $1.1 billion from outside investors to support its advisory platform and investment initiatives. The business expanded its sector reach through the 2016 acquisition of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., a Houston-based energy investment-banking and merchant-banking firm. That operation became PWP’s energy practice, strengthening the firm’s presence in energy and natural resources. PWP subsequently advised on transactions across healthcare, technology, media, telecommunications, consumer products, industrials, utilities, transportation, real estate, and financial services. Its restructuring practice has also worked with companies, creditors, boards, and government-related stakeholders during major reorganizations and liability-management situations. The firm announced in December 2020 that it would become a public company through a merger with FinTech Acquisition Corporation IV, a Nasdaq-listed special-purpose acquisition company sponsored by Cohen Circle. The transaction closed in June 2021, and PWP began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol PWP on June 25, 2021. Going public gave the firm access to public-market capital while preserving its identity as an independent advisory platform. PWP’s advisory franchise has participated in numerous high-profile transactions, including the sale of NYSE Euronext to Intercontinental Exchange, Medtronic’s acquisition of Covidien, AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, the merger of Linde and Praxair, PepsiCo’s acquisition of SodaStream, the combination of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA, and restructuring and liability-management matters involving iHeartMedia, PG&E, California Resources Corporation, and FTX-related estates. The firm has also advised on public listings and business combinations involving special-purpose acquisition companies. Separate from investment banking, Agility provides outsourced CIO services and investment management for endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and other long-term investors. The firm’s geographic footprint has included offices in New York, London, Paris, Munich, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Calgary. PWP’s market positioning centers on senior-led advice, independence from a large universal bank, and expertise in complicated, consequential, or contested transactions.
History
Perella Weinberg Partners was founded in June 2006 by Joseph R. Perella, Peter A. Weinberg, and Terry Meguid. The firm opened with offices in New York and London and was designed as an independent financial-services platform rather than as a division of a large commercial or universal bank. To establish its operations and seed investment initiatives, it raised more than $1.1 billion from a group of investors. The founders brought extensive experience from leading investment-banking institutions. Perella had previously founded Wasserstein Perella & Co. in 1988 and later held senior positions at Morgan Stanley, where he led mergers and acquisitions and chaired the Institutional Securities and Investment Banking Group. Weinberg had served as chief executive of Goldman Sachs International in London and as co-head of Goldman Sachs’s Global Investment Banking Division. Their backgrounds helped establish PWP’s reputation for senior-level advice on large and complex transactions. PWP’s early and subsequent advisory work covered mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, financing, capital markets, shareholder matters, and liability management. The firm advised NYSE Euronext on its sale to Intercontinental Exchange, Medtronic on its acquisition of Covidien, and companies involved in major industrial, consumer, healthcare, technology, energy, media, telecommunications, and utility transactions. Its restructuring franchise represented boards, companies, creditors, and other stakeholders in situations involving reorganizations, recapitalizations, distressed debt, and bankruptcy. In 2014, Robert K. Steel joined PWP as chief executive officer and later became vice chairman. Steel had previously served as New York City’s deputy mayor for economic development, president and chief executive officer of Wachovia Corporation, under secretary of the United States Treasury, and a senior Goldman Sachs executive. Andrew Bednar and Dietrich Becker had been partners since the firm’s founding and served as co-presidents for a period. Bednar became chief executive officer in January 2023, while Becker continued as president. A major expansion occurred in 2016, when PWP acquired Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., a Houston-based energy investment-banking and merchant-banking firm. The acquired platform became PWP’s energy practice and broadened the firm’s sector expertise in oil and gas, power, infrastructure, and related natural-resources markets. PWP announced in December 2020 that it would become publicly traded through a merger with FinTech Acquisition Corporation IV, a Nasdaq-listed special-purpose acquisition company sponsored by Cohen Circle. The transaction closed in June 2021, and the company began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PWP on June 25, 2021. Around this period, the firm advised on numerous public-company combinations and SPAC transactions, including transactions involving Universal Music Group, Blue Owl Capital, Parallel, and Science 37. The firm continued to advise on high-profile transactions after listing. Its work included advising Kraft Heinz on the sale of Planters to Hormel Foods, Discovery’s independent transaction committee on its combination with WarnerMedia, Cimarex Energy on its merger with Cabot Oil & Gas, Vonovia on its proposed combination with Deutsche Wohnen, KKR on the take-private acquisition of Cloudera, MKS Instruments on its acquisition of Atotech, and Baxter International on its acquisition and later divestiture-related transactions. In 2022, PWP was selected by John J. Ray and the FTX companies to help manage assets during the FTX bankruptcy process. It also advised Estée Lauder Companies on the acquisition of the Tom Ford brand. In 2023 and 2024, PWP advised on transactions including Baxter International’s sale of BioPharma Solutions, the combination of Cedar Fair and Six Flags, Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy matters, Bosch’s acquisition of selected Johnson Controls assets, and the acquisition of Covestro by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. In August 2025, PWP acquired Devon Park Advisors, a secondaries advisory firm founded in 2021. Alongside investment banking, PWP operates Agility, an asset-management and outsourced-CIO business. Agility serves endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and other long-term investors. This business gives PWP a second institutional offering while retaining the firm’s primary identity as an independent strategic and financial adviser.
- 2025
Devon Park Advisors acquired
[1]PWP acquired Devon Park Advisors, expanding its secondaries advisory capabilities.
- 2023
Andrew Bednar becomes chief executive officer
[1]Andrew Bednar was appointed chief executive officer after previously serving as a founding partner and co-president.
- 2021
Nasdaq listing completed
[1]The transaction closed and PWP began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PWP on June 25, 2021.
- 2020
Public listing transaction announced
[1]PWP announced a merger with FinTech Acquisition Corporation IV, a special-purpose acquisition company.
- 2016
Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. acquired
[1]PWP acquired the Houston-based energy advisory and merchant-banking firm to create its energy practice.
- 2014
Robert K. Steel joins as chief executive
[1]Robert K. Steel joined the firm as chief executive officer and later became vice chairman.
- 2006
Firm founded
[1]Joseph R. Perella, Peter A. Weinberg, and Terry Meguid launched PWP with offices in New York and London.
Products and positioning
An independent, senior-led advisory firm serving corporations, boards, creditors, investors, governments, and other institutions in complex strategic, financing, restructuring, and capital-markets situations.
Financial advisory · 2006
Investment banking advisory
PWP advises corporations, boards, investors, and other institutions on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, strategic combinations, fairness and transaction matters, financing, capital markets, shareholder engagement, and activism-related situations. The firm’s independent structure is positioned for transactions requiring senior attention and specialized advice across multiple industries.
Restructuring advisory · 2006
Restructuring and liability management
The restructuring practice advises companies, boards, creditors, and other stakeholders during financial distress, bankruptcy, recapitalization, and liability-management situations. Its assignments have included large corporate reorganizations, distressed-debt matters, creditor negotiations, and complex court-supervised or pre-arranged restructuring processes.
Sector advisory · 2016
Energy advisory
PWP’s energy practice was strengthened through the acquisition of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. It provides investment-banking and merchant-banking advice to businesses and investors across energy and related natural-resources sectors, including transactions involving exploration and production, power, infrastructure, and energy services.
Asset management and outsourced CIO
Agility
Agility is PWP’s separate asset-management and outsourced-chief-investment-office platform. It serves institutional and long-term investors such as endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and similar organizations, providing investment oversight and portfolio-management support.
Controversies
2015
Restructuring-team departure and litigation
PWP dismissed several senior restructuring professionals after learning that they planned to establish a competing firm, later known as Ducera Partners. The former professionals sued over alleged wrongful termination, while PWP filed counterclaims alleging contractual breaches and seeking compensation for lost business. The matter was reported as a legal dispute rather than a finding of wrongdoing.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021PWP Forward Acquisition Corp. I
United States
PWP and its partners sponsored a blank-check company led by women and focused on improving access to public financing for companies founded by, led by, or benefiting women.
Brand decisions
2025
Acquire Devon Park AdvisorsM&ABackground
PWP sought to expand its capabilities in secondaries advisory.
Action taken
The firm acquired Devon Park Advisors, a secondaries advisory firm founded in 2021.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded PWP’s private-markets advisory offering.
2023
Appoint Andrew Bednar as chief executive officerStrategyBackground
PWP adjusted its senior leadership structure after Bednar had served as a founding partner and co-president.
Action taken
Andrew Bednar became chief executive officer, while Dietrich Becker continued as president and Robert K. Steel served as vice chairman.
Aftermath
The change maintained continuity among the firm’s founding-era senior leadership while assigning chief executive responsibility to Bednar.
2021
Launch PWP Forward Acquisition Corp. IStrategyBackground
PWP and its partners sought to support access to public financing for businesses connected with women as founders, leaders, or beneficiaries.
Action taken
The firm sponsored a women-led blank-check company focused on public-financing opportunities.
2020
Agree to merge with FinTech Acquisition Corporation IVM&ABackground
PWP pursued a public-market listing while retaining its independent advisory identity.
Action taken
The firm announced a business combination with the Nasdaq-listed special-purpose acquisition company FinTech Acquisition Corporation IV.
Aftermath
The transaction closed in June 2021 and resulted in PWP’s Nasdaq listing.
2016
Acquire Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.M&ABackground
PWP sought to deepen its energy-sector capabilities and expand its presence in Houston and energy investment banking.
Action taken
The firm acquired Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. and operated it as PWP’s energy practice.
Aftermath
The transaction broadened PWP’s sector coverage and established a dedicated energy platform.
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