The news prompted Deal Journal to highlight the so-called secretive nature of Riverstone, saying:
For a person terribly protective of his privacy, former BP boss John Browne has found a perfect new gig.
The post goes on to explain how obscure the firm is by simply showing how few stories about founder David Leuschen are in the Factiva archives when compared to stories about Blackstone Group LP's Steve Schwarzman and Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein. However, longtime readers of The Deal should be relatively familiar with the firm because there are over 110 references to Riverstone in TheDeal.com archives and eight specifically about Leuschen compared to Factiva's 41 references — some of which may be stories from The Deal.
Of course, it's not unusual for secretive firms to offer details about deals likes its participation in 2006's $22 billion acquisition of Kinder Morgan Inc. However, would a secretive firm offer an interview with a recent hire? No, Dealscape hasn't spoken with Browne, but in March, The Deal's Amy Wu interviewed Riverstone's John Moon shortly after he joined the firm. —Matthew Wurtzel with contribution from Carolyn Murphy
See post from WSJ.com's Deal Journal
See related post from FT Alphaville
See Moon story from The Deal
See Kinder Morgan story from The Deal
Tags: private+equity, deals, private-equity