Quattrone jumps into the Yahoo-Microsoft fracas

Frank Quattrone is a legend in tech dealmaking. He got his start in 1981 and has since worked for firms like Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse. Some of his deals include the public offerings of Netscape, Cisco Sytems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Well, in March, he announced that he has put together a boutique investment bank, Qatalyst Group. His team has advised on more than 400 M&A deals and 350 financings.

Despite being out of the game for some time, Quattrone still has lots of brand power. Interestingly enough, he has already snagged a plum assignment. That is, he will represent Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) CEO, Eric Schmidt, in the intricate battle between Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). This is a according to a piece in the NYTimes.com.

OK, what will this mean for the fight? It's tough to tell. However, I'm sure Quattrone will devise something interesting. For example, there is already the beginnings of an advertising alliance between Google and Yahoo!

But whatever comes of things, I'm sure Quattrone will get a juicy fee -- and turbocharge his new firm.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.