ANALYSIS: IPO Diversity Plan May Cost Goldman $101M in Lost Fees

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon dropped a bombshell at the World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos, Switzerland: Beginning July 1, the biggest underwriter of initial public offerings in the U.S. will refuse to take public any company that doesn’t have a minimally diverse board of directors. A Bloomberg Law analysis has determined that Goldman Sachs could have lost up to $101 million in underwriting fees from as many as 18 U.S. IPOs had the policy been effective in 2019. $101 million represents nearly one-third of the $318.68 million in advisory fees Goldman earned from the 59 U.S. IPOs it underwrote ...