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Michael Bloomberg is Back at Bloomberg LP

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Daniel Doctoroff, on the left, departing CEO of Bloomberg LP, and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Less than a year after the ending of Michael Bloomberg final term as Mayor of New York City, he announced late Wednesday, September 3rd that he will be returning to lead his eponymous company. This came the same day that Bloomberg LP announced the departure of CEO Daniel Doctoroff, who was employed as Bloomberg’s Deputy Mayor for six years before he moved on to Bloomberg LP. It was several years that the former Mayor showed no intentions of returning to the company. He now has the challenge of diversifying revenue flow away from the terminal business that accounts for nearly 80% of annual sales.

It seems that Doctoroff couldn’t handle the former Mayor’s increasing presence in the office. The billionaire philanthropist originally planned to only spend a few hours a day at his new office in the fifth floor of their Lexington Avenue headquarters; however, Bloomberg couldn’t stay away, and began spending more and more time at the company, taking part in discussions on strategy and at times conflicting with his CEO.

Originally Bloomberg maintained that after office he planned to be far from the 1980s founded company. Last year just months before concluding his third term, in an interview with Forbes’ Monte Burke, Bloomberg was asked why he didn’t plan to return to running his namesake company. ”I did it for 20 years,” he replied, adding,”It would be a 24/7 job, which I don’t want to do. And we’ve got some very good people running it.” The then outgoing mayor explained his future plans:

“I can tell you what I won’t do. I’m not going to become a professional investor. That’s somebody else’s job. I don’t want to teach. I don’t want to become a consultant. These things don’t appeal to me. I’m not going back to Bloomberg L.P. I don’t want to start a new company. I want to do a number of different things.”

CEO Doctoroff, who soon stepped out of the way, explained in a press release: “I love the company and have deep respect and affection for Mike, so leaving is not an easy decision, but it is the right one for the company, for Mike and for me at this stage of my life. It is and has always been Mike’s company and given his renewed interest and energy, it only makes sense for him to retake the helm.”

Bloomberg had only positive words praising his former deputy, who grew the company’s revenues from $5.4 billion in 2007, to over $9 billion this year. Bloomberg said, “This is a sad day for me and my company. I really wanted Dan to stay and continue in his leadership role. But I understand his decision. I never intended to come back to Bloomberg LP after twelve years as Mayor. However, the more time I spent reacquainting myself with the company, the more exciting and interesting I found it.”

Bloomberg LP claims to lead the global market, controlling 32% of the market in financial data. Thomson Reuters was surpassed by the company as it became number one, and has tried to expand elsewhere under Doctoroff’s leadership. Although the company’s growth had been impressive for many years, it recently slowed as competitors and the internet took away from the Bloomberg Terminal, its main revenue generator. Company-wide revenue hit $8.3 billion last year, but the majority of that sum came from the terminal business’ 320,000 subscribers who each paid around $20,000 a year. About $6.4 billion was generated in sales by the terminals, which is more than 79% of overall revenue.

Doctoroff built a key news and television unit as well as several other units in attempts to diversify the company. Bloomberg faces a challenging new era for the company, in which alternative data and information sources are increasingly available to traders. The billionaire philanthropist will also have to devise a way to create a profitable media empire, and continue to expand the group’s enterprise business.

The majority of the former mayor’s net worth is from his 88% stake in the company he founded in 1981, along with Duncan MacMillan, Thomas Secunda, and Charles Zegar.

As for now, Doctoroff can remain Bloomberg’s “friend, adviser, and partner.” He has been offered a seat, which he will most likely accept, in the board of the Bloomberg Philanthropies.

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