(FORTUNE Magazine) – Lazard's War of Words

The transatlantic standoff at Lazard shows no signs of reaching a détente as Michel David-Weill, the firm's Paris-based septuagenarian owner, tangles with his hired gun, Bruce Wasserstein, who set out to renovate Lazard three years ago. Wasserstein seemingly won a round in late October when he got David-Weill to agree to an IPO that would buy out David-Weill and Lazard's other founding partners. But expect to see more public posturing since the Frenchman set conditions that financiers say will make an IPO impossible. First, Wasserstein must get a price that values Lazard at between $3 billion and $3.5 billion--more than just about anyone thinks it's worth. Second, he has to get the deal done by the end of next June or David-Weill wants him out, a ridiculous restriction for any IPO. Moreover, some point out that because Lazard's business consists mostly of notoriously volatile corporate advisory work, it doesn't lend itself to public life, where shareholders demand predictable quarterly earnings. The advantage appears to be with David-Weill: Observers speculate he'll try to find a way to break Wasserstein's contract, which goes through 2006. Meanwhile, considering that the bulk of Lazard's business is in advising corporations whether to marry or divorce, can it be good news that the two are reportedly not on speaking terms? -- Janet Guyon