Leading investment bank Lazard Group?s decision to pick Bermuda as home for its newly incorporated holding company is a feather in the Island?s financial services cap, Finance Minister Paula Cox said.

Lazard ? best known for its consulting on corporate mergers and acquisition ? has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $850 million in an initial public offering that could value the firm at more than $3 billion.

The news that the company set up Lazard Ltd. on the Island on October 25 was revealed in the regulatory filing detailing the bank?s bid to go public after 156 years as one of the most closely-held private firms.

Ms Cox told : ?The Lazard Group is a world renowned investment bank that has distinguished itself as a leading mergers and acquisitions advisory firm.

?Lazard?s choice of Bermuda highlights and confirms yet again that Bermuda is regarded as a premier jurisdiction for international financial services. Bermuda is home to many of the world?s top financial services companies and we welcome the Lazard Group to Bermuda.?

It is not clear how much of a physical presence, if any, Lazard intends to have on the Island. Earlier this week the company?s Bermuda counsel, Conyers Dill & Pearman, as well as company spokesman Rich Silverman, declined to comment on Lazard?s specific plans for Bermuda-based Lazard Ltd. However, the Financial Times reported Lazard chairman Michel David-Weill as saying the Island had been chosen because of its neutrality. This is key for the multinational group as it does not want to risk ostracising European clients with its increasing ties to the US as it prepares to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Although critics of the deal have raised doubts over the reasons for Lazard?s listing ? it will split the company while cementing the power of Lazard Head Bruce Wasserstein in exchange for a $1.6 billion buy out of David-Weill?s stake, a founding descendant ? it is seen here as an affirmation of Bermuda?s growing reputation as a financial services jurisdiction.

Ms Cox concluded: ?Lazard is a signature company and by its very presence here it will enhance Bermuda?s reputation. We look forward to the company adding even further value as the details of its business plan emerge.?

In its 240-page filing with the SEC, Lazard said the Bermuda Monetary Authority had classified Lazard Ltd. as a non-resident company, which restricts its ability to deal in foreign exchange, but it has applied for permission to issue and transfer common stock outside of the Island, under the Exchange Control Act 1972. The filing said that Lazard has, in the last five years, advised on about 1,000 mergers and acquisitions that have collectively been worth more than $1 trillion.

Lazard?s IPO, which must occur by the end of 2005 under the terms of the deal inked by Mr. Wasserstein and Mr. David-Weill, is being led by a group of banks headed by Goldman Sachs and including JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co., Lazard and Credit Suisse First Boston.