PARIS, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- French stakeholders in investment bank Lazard want a bit more convincing before they turn their venerable, 156-year-old institution over to public owners.
Michel David-Weill, the chairman of Lazard and descendant of the firm's founders, said more discussions should take place to win over those partners who still have qualms about the company's proposed initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Aides to Bruce Wasserstein, whom David-Weill hired in 2001 to run the $3 billion bank, said they were "optimistic" any dissidents could be won over and insisted the plans for an initial public offering were on track.
Wasserstein has indicated a willingness to reconsider touchy issues like governance and has entered into individual negotiations with some of the dissident partners.
"We will probably not know until Friday or Saturday whether the IPO can proceed or not," said one person close to Wasserstein.
