Star former Morgan Stanley dealmaker Grimes to leave Commerce Dept, Semafor reports

Jan 29 (Reuters) – Star technology investment banker Michael Grimes, who left Morgan Stanley to take up a senior role in the U.S. Commerce Department, is leaving the agency and heading back to California, Semafor reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Grimes took on the role of a senior adviser at the Commerce Department early last year. Prior to that, he spent more than three decades at Morgan Stanley taking major technology companies such as Meta and Uber public.

Grimes was running the U.S. government’s venture arm, the report said, adding that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will assume control of the department’s investment accelerator, which manages government stakes in private-sector projects using funding from the 2022 CHIPS Act.

The accelerator holds U.S. positions in Intel, two rare-earth minerals companies and oversees the government’s board seat at U.S. Steel, the report said. It will also hold the billions of dollars pledged by Japan, Taiwan and South Korea under recent trade agreements, it added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although it is not clear what Grimes will do next, the report suggested he is likely to play a role in the planned initial public offering of Elon Musk’s SpaceX later this year.

Grimes previously worked closely with Musk on deals involving his other companies, including Tesla. Morgan Stanley was one of the lead underwriters on the electric vehicle maker’s stock market launch.

He also advised Musk on his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, which was rebranded X.

(Reporting by Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)