New Media Sector, UBS Investment Hires

UBS Investment Bank has hired in its communications sector, focusing on internet, interactive entertainment and related technology companies.

Brian Pitz joins as an executive director and the team leader, Brian Fitzgerald as a director, and Kaizad Gotla as an associate analyst.

Pitz most recently worked at Banc of America where he was lead analyst covering Internet/e-commerce, online advertising, and marketing companies for the past three years. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Morgan Stanley as an analyst.

Fitzgerald previously worked at Banc of America where he spent the past three years covering the Internet/mobile Internet companies. Prior to that, he spent five years at Morgan Stanley as an analyst.

Gotla also joins UBS after spending three years at Banc of America where he covered Internet/mobile Internet companies. Previously, he worked for Yahoo! in the global market research group.

UBS is headquartered in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, and serves an international client base with wealth management, investment banking and asset management businesses. The firm has offices in more than 50 countries; shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

Sotheby's completed the purchase of its York Avenue flagship headquarters and auction premises in New York City on Feb. 6 for $370 million. The purchase price was funded by the assumption of the prior owner's mortgage of $235 million at a rate of 5.6%, a $50 million cash payment, which was made in January 2008, and an $85 million cash payment which was funded at closing last Friday.

Sotheby's is a global company that engages in art auction, private sales and art-related financing activities. The company operates in 41 countries, with principal salesrooms located in New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and regularly conducts auctions in six other salesrooms around the world. Sotheby's is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BID.