Montgomery & Co.
Type	Private
Industry	Investment Banking
Founded	1986
Headquarters	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Key people	James Montgomery, Founder & CEOMichael Montgomery, President
Products	Investment Banking, Private Equity, Investment Management
Employees	50 (2011)
Website	www.monty.com

Founded in 1986, Montgomery & Co. is an merchant bank located in Santa Monica, California.

History

Founding and early history: 1986–1996
Founded by James Montgomery in Los Angeles the original mission was to provide strategic counsel to high technology companies. From 1986 to 1991 the firm primarily focused on strategic advisory services for global technology, media, communications, and aerospace companies. Concentrating on large corporations the firm advised on growth strategies and new market development.

1996–2001
In 1996, the firm expanded into investment banking. James Montgomery co-founded Palomar Ventures in 1998 and Montgomery & Co. remains a General Partner in this entity. In 2000 and 2001 there was a technology downturn and consolidation in the banking industry, which the firm capitalized on and recruited a series of top tier bankers. James Montgomery accompanied by his brother Michael Montgomery, expanded the firm in terms of its industry focus, its geographic focus, and the expanse of services.^[1]

2002-2012
Montgomery & Co. provided merger and acquisition and private placement services to growth companies. The firm advised over 500 clients, and raised $5 billion in investment capital for its clients. Notable transactions include the initial sales of Myspace to News Corporation, as well as transactions with BT, Google, Yahoo!, IAC, Hearst Corporation, Walt Disney Company, Sony, Phillips Electronics, IBM, Intel and other leading companies. ^[2]

2013
After 25 years, the business at Montgomery & Co. changed considerably and the firm proactively responded to these changes. Effective summer 2013, Montgomery will concentrate their efforts on their principal investments.^[3]

Principal Investments
Since inception, Montgomery has invested alongside leading entrepreneurs. Montgomery reached a benchmark by leading the 2007 Series-A funding of $70 million for Vantage Media Corp.^[4] At the time, this was the largest Series-A venture financing recorded in the U.S. and Europe since 2005.
In addition to the firm’s current investments in Payvia, Vantage Media, Cardeas Pharma, FindtheBest, ServiceMesh, Specific Media and other holdings; the firm’s past investments include PhoneFactor (acquired by Microsoft), Xenoport (IPO), Corus Pharma (acquired by Gilead), iBeam Broadcasting (IPO), ConsumerInfo.com (acquired by Experian), Peregrine Semiconductor (IPO), Cognet Microsystem (acquired by Intel), DataDirectNetworks (recapitalization), DriveCam (recapitalization) and Planet ATE (acquired by Intersil).

Montgomery Technology Conference
Since its inception in 2004, The Montgomery Technology Conference has established itself into the premier conference for emerging growth private companies in the internet, wireless, information technology, communications and related media and technology sectors. The conference features about 150 private companies to an audience of nearly 1,000 technology and media executives, and venture and private equity investors.^[5] Over the last 10 years, the conference has hosted over 1,500 presenting companies that have experienced tremendous growth and success. Some of these past previous presenting companies have included Facebook and Twitter. The format of the conference includes company presentations, panels on key industry trends, and one-on-one meetings to discuss investments, acquisitions, and alliances. In 2013, Montgomery & Co. had its 10th Annual Montgomery Technology Conference, featuring guest speaker Tony Hsieh of Zappos, which was broadcast on CNBC.^[6]