Frank Quattrone, the man, the mustache, the legend, has been tapped to advise Google on its response to the Microsoft-Yahoo drama, according to the New York Times' DealBook.
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise to industry watchers -- when Quattrone launched a boutique investment bank called Qatalyst in March, he clearly had the backing of Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
"The launch of Qatalyst is an important development for the technology industry . . . ," Schmidt said in the Qatalyst press release. "I look forward to working with him again and am very enthusiastic about Qatalyst's prospects for success."
Quattrone, a veteran Silicon Valley deal maker, reportedly earned more than $200 million as an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston. It was a sweet gig until he was convicted of obstruction of justice for his alleged involvement in the tinkering of evidence in a CSFB case. He reached a deal with the government in 2006, under which his criminal case would be thrown out if he demonstrated good behavior for a year.
