The US investment bank re-gained its stranglehold over business in TSMC's name last night Tuesday winning an auction to place out 20 million ADR's for Taiwan's National Development Fund. In doing so, it is believed to have beaten four other banks comprising Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Salomon Smith Barney and UBS Warburg.
Even though the deal was in the name of the government, winning will have been extremely important to Goldman given its close relationship with TSMC, whose CEO Morris Chang was recently elected to the bankÆs board. However, a number of rival firms questioned the logic of its aggression in the face of a falling market and there was also widespread...