Business Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Business Information

Business Information

The Company’s activities as an investment banking firm constitutes a single business segment, with two principal sources of revenue:

• Advisory, which includes engagements relating to mergers and acquisitions, financing advisory and restructuring, and private equity and real estate capital advisory services; and

• Investments, which includes the Company's principal investments in certain merchant banking funds, Iridium, other investments and interest income.

As described in “Note 4 — Investments — Merchant Banking Funds”, effective December 31, 2010, the Company no longer manages the merchant banking funds. In reporting to management, the Company distinguishes the sources of its revenues between advisory and merchant banking and other investment revenues. However, management does not evaluate other financial data or operating results such as operating expenses, profit and loss or assets by its advisory and merchant banking activities.

The Company has principally earned its revenues from advisory fees earned from clients in large part upon the successful completion of the client’s transaction or restructuring, or fund closing. Advisory revenues represented approximately 102%, 103% and 91% of the Company’s total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

In 2012, 2011 and 2010, there were no advisory clients that accounted for more than 10% of total revenues. The Company did not have any single gain on an investment that contributed more than 10% to total revenues in 2012, 2011 or 2010.

Since the financial markets are global in nature, the Company generally manages its business based on the operating results of the enterprise taken as whole, not by geographic region. For reporting purposes, the geographic regions are North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, locations in which the Company retains substantially all of its employees.

The following table presents information about the Company by geographic region, after elimination of all significant inter-company accounts and transactions:

	As of or for The Years Ended December 31,
	2012			2011			2010
	(in thousands)
Total revenues
North America	$	179,204		$	153,812		$	172,462
Europe	57,606			60,068			53,005
Australia	44,801			70,669			40,827
Asia	3,468			9,444			12,035
Total	$	285,079		$	293,993		$	278,329
Income (loss) before taxes
North America	$	56,837		$	22,812		$	43,276
Europe	8,447			12,578			(7,351		)
Australia	10,982			33,776			19,352
Asia	(5,791		)	(496		)	3,674
Total	$	70,475		$	68,670		$	58,951
Total assets
North America	$	165,118		$	193,661		$	236,014
Europe	41,251			71,965			79,322
Australia	175,095			186,463			185,895
Asia	5,506			8,654			7,446
Total	$	386,970		$	460,743		$	508,677