What Is a Deal Toy?
A deal toy, also called a tombstone or a lucite, is a commemorative object made after a deal closes. The classic version is a clear acrylic block with the transaction announcement embedded inside, listing the parties and the banks that advised. Firms have made them shaped like airplanes and beer bottles when the deal called for it.
The name comes from the printed tombstone advertisements banks used to run in newspapers after an offering, which listed the underwriters in a box. The toy is the desk version.
Who Gets One
Everyone on the deal team, from the analyst who built the model to the managing director who won the mandate, and the client's executives. The bank orders them from a specialist vendor and the cost comes out of the deal budget. Analysts tend to keep every one; a row of deal toys is the visible proof of two years' work.
Why It Comes Up in Recruiting
It does not, except as vocabulary. But the deals behind the toys do. When a banker in a coffee chat mentions a transaction, knowing enough to ask a real question about it is worth more than any prepared line.
