Hornblower & Weeks

Overview

Hornblower & Weeks was an American investment banking and brokerage firm founded in 1888 by Henry Hornblower and John W. Weeks. The firm was active in financing automobile companies in the first half of the 20th century, including Dodge Motors, General Motors, and Hudson Motor Car Company. At its peak in the late 1970s, Hornblower ranked eighth among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange in number of retail offices, with 93 retail sales offices located in the United States and Europe. In January 1977, Loeb, Rhoades & Co. agreed to a merger with Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask to form Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co. The merger turned out to be disastrous for both firms. The two firms incurred significant costs attempting to merge their back office operations, both of which had issues prior to the merger. By the end of 1978, less than a year after the merger, the combined firm was losing millions of dollars. Following the merger with Shearson, the Hornblower name was retired permanently. Just two years later, in 1981, Weill sold the combined company to American Express to form Shearson/American Express. Shortly after the merger with Shearson, Ralph Hornblower Jr., and Ralph (Ray) Hornblower III formed a new company, named Hornblower & Company with offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Investment Focus

• Geographical focus: United States and Europe
• Industries: Automotive, Technology, Healthcare, Financial Services, Energy, Consumer Goods, Telecommunications, Media, Retail, Real Estate, Manufacturing, Transportation, Utilities, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology
• Asset classes: Private Equity, Venture Capital, Fixed Income (Debt and Bonds), Real Estate, Commodities, Hedge Funds, Infrastructure, Crypto, Distressed and Special Situations, ESG and Impact Investing, Collectibles & Art
• Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Early Stage, Series A, Series B, Growth, Late Stage, Pre-IPO, Buyout, Turnaround, Distressed

Portfolio Companies