Negocios Now

www.negociosnow.com NegociosNow Special coverage ENGLISH NegociosNow Diciembre 2008 7 Junio 2012 Mr. Cabrera answering questions from Negocios Now, during an exclusive interview at his office on LaSalle St., in Chicago. Photo Brian Moroczynski Martin Cabrera: Face to face with Facebook By Clemente Nicado, Editor in Chief he received a much-awaited phone call bearing good news. Social media giant Facebook had updated its ini- tial public offering bid to include his eponymous Cabrera Capital Markets LLC as one of the underwritten for its initial public offering. Cabrera, who grew up in Little Village and whose company currently has underwritten over $380 billion in debt and equi- ty offerings, was beyond excited. "I was ecstatic that we were going to be allowed to participate," he said. He wasn't alone. "I quickly called our home office to give them the news and everyone was really excited to be able to participate" in what has been the most anticipated IPO of the year. Negocios Now recently inter- C viewed Cabrera at this office on LaSalle Street as to his involvement with the public rollout of Menlo Park, Calif.–based Facebook, which boasts hicago-born investment banker Martin Cabrera was in his car earlier this year when more than 900 million active users and, now, billions of dollars in market capitalization. Here are excerpts from that interview. Negocios Now: How did Face- book come to choose Cabrera Capi- tal Markets as an underwriter? Martin Cabrera: I think they cho- se us for several reasons. One, we're a qualified kind of boutique inves- tment bank, and we have a natio- nal presence as well as international accounts and distribution. But it' MC: I would like to think that we s really because of our capabilities and what we have done in the marketpla- ce with other initial public offerings. We have a track record of success in equity offerings as well as with capital markets and corporate bond offe- rings. It is also our distribution, not only here in the States but overseas as well. Our bankers, ideas and solu- tions helped Facebook in reaching this decision. NN: Were you surprised that Face- book chose your company to help with the rollout? are very good at what we do, and our record stands on its own, but I know that we were chosen for this opportunity thanks also to recom- mendations from other corpora- tions regarding our performance and our track record. That went a long way, as did our reputation of doing well for our clients. Was I surprised? I was hopeful that we would be recognized for our efforts, our capabilities and our team, and we were. I was happy. This is such an important IPO. NN: Is Facebook a technology company or a social media com- pany? MC: It is both a social media com- pany and a technology company. It has had such a drastic impact on both technology and social media, taking it to a whole new level. This story is really a story of American success. Here you have a young man (Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg) who has taken something he was very passionate about and has grown it to a level he never thought he would accomplish, and his partners as well. NN: Is this the biggest challenge your company has at the moment? MC: I don't know if it is our biggest challenge, but we're clearly excited about the opportunity and we're con- fident that with our performance and our track record, we will do well and perform for Facebook. But we have other challenges and they are daily. The markets move and there are a great number of things that are hap- pening in the international capital markets. What' s taking place in Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy impact our markets and impact our business day-to-day. There are many challen- ges out there and that is what makes our business exciting. Every day is different. You have to stay on top of things and look beyond the next year or the next three years. What are the obstacles that will be coming up? The regulatory environment, the presidential election, how does that impact the markets? NN: What's next for Cabrera Capi- tal after Facebook? MC: I don't think there is going to be a larger IPO for a while, but I do think there are a lot of companies we are hel- ping to get to the point where they can have an IPO and that is something we take pride in. We help a lot of compa- nies grow their business and it is even more meaningful when they are Lati- no businesses. We are helping them get to the next level because we know that as those companies succeed, they are being viewed by other corpora- tions across the country. Contributing to their success is very satisfying as is knowing you had a part in helping not just with equity IPOs but also with issuing bonds, like we do for the Chica- go Public Schools. You see how much pride some of these students have coming to a new building, how eager they are to learn and to be part of the pride they have in their schools. They are the future and helping them grow is the ultimate reward for us. That' s what it is all about. Lea la entrevista en español en www.NegociosNow.com

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