First Boston Official Resigns

Yves-Andre Istel, former co-chairman of First Boston International, has joined the merchant banking firm Wasserstein, Perella & Co. as vice chairman and a founding partner responsible for international activities.

Istel is at least the fifth top official of First Boston Corp. to leave this week. Bruce Wasserstein and Joseph R. Perella, among the nation’s best known and respected mergers and acquisitions specialists, resigned earlier this week to form Wasserstein, Perella. First Boston managing directors Bill Lambert and Charles G. Ward defected with Wasserstein and Perella.

First Boston, apparently concerned about the potential risks of merchant banking, concluded in a recent strategic study that it did not want to expand the activity as fast or as far as Wasserstein and Perella wanted. Merchant banking is a highly lucrative but risky activity in which investment banking firms facilitate mergers by acquiring stock in target firms or providing temporary financing.

Among the transactions for which Istel has been responsible are the acquisition of the Squibb perfume business by Yves St. Laurent in 1987 and the AT&T-Olivetti; link in 1984.