Hambrecht & Quist
Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q) was an investment bank based in San Francisco, California noted for its focus on the technology and internet sectors. H&Q was founded by William Hambrecht and George Quist in California, 1968.
H&Q was an early player in the technology sector, underwriting IPOs for Apple Computer, Genentech, and Adobe Systems in the 1980s. In the 1990s, H&Q also backed the IPOs of Netscape, MP3.com, and Amazon.com.
Competition in the investment banking industry in the late 1990s limited H&Q's ability to grow as an independent firm, and in 1999 Hambrecht & Quist was acquired for $1.35B by Chase Manhattan Bank. H&Q was originally to be renamed "Chase Securities West" but ultimately was renamed "Chase H&Q" after marketing research revealed the H&Q brand name was still valuable. This unit eventually lost the H&Q name and is currently part of JPMorgan Chase. The H&Q name lives on in the closed-end healthcare funds managed by Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management in Boston.