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ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2023
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION | ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION Organization Lazard Ltd, a Bermuda holding company, and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “Lazard Ltd”, “Lazard”, “we” or the “Company”), including Lazard Ltd’s indirect investment in Lazard Group LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively referred to, together with its subsidiaries, as “Lazard Group”), is one of the world’s preeminent financial advisory and asset management firms that specializes in crafting solutions to the complex financial and strategic challenges of our clients. We serve a diverse set of clients around the world, including corporations, governments, institutions, partnerships and individuals. Lazard Ltd indirectly held 100% of all outstanding Lazard Group common membership interests as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. Lazard Ltd, through its control of the managing members of Lazard Group, controls Lazard Group, which as of December 31, 2022 was governed by an Amended and Restated Operating Agreement dated as of February 4, 2019. Such operating agreement was subsequently amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2023 (as so amended and restated, the “Operating Agreement”). Lazard Ltd’s primary operating asset is its indirect ownership of the common membership interests of, and managing member interests in, Lazard Group, whose principal operating activities are included in two business segments: •Financial Advisory, which offers corporate, partnership, institutional, government, sovereign and individual clients across the globe a wide array of financial advisory services regarding strategic and mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) advisory, capital markets advisory, shareholder advisory, restructuring and liability management, sovereign advisory, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory matters and capital raising and placement, and •Asset Management, which offers a broad range of global investment solutions and investment and wealth management services in equity and fixed income strategies, asset allocation strategies, alternative investments and private equity funds to corporations, public funds, sovereign entities, endowments and foundations, labor funds, financial intermediaries and private clients. In addition, we record selected other activities in our Corporate segment, including management of cash, investments, deferred tax assets, outstanding indebtedness, certain contingent obligations, and certain assets and liabilities associated with (i) Lazard Group’s Paris-based subsidiary, Lazard Frères Banque SA (“LFB”), and (ii) in 2022, a special purpose acquisition company that was sponsored by an affiliate of the Company, Lazard Growth Acquisition Corp. I (“LGAC”). Basis of Presentation The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements of Lazard Ltd have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Lazard Ltd’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. The accompanying December 31, 2022 unaudited condensed consolidated statement of financial condition data was derived from audited consolidated financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP for annual financial statement purposes. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented. Preparing financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts that are reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and the accompanying disclosures. For example, discretionary compensation and benefits expense for interim periods is accrued based on the year-to-date amount of revenue earned, and an estimated annual ratio of compensation and benefits expense to revenue, with the applicable amounts adjusted for certain items. Although these estimates are based on management’s knowledge of current events and actions that Lazard may undertake in the future, actual results may differ materially from the estimates. The consolidated results of operations for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2023 are not indicative of the results to be expected for any future interim or annual period. The condensed consolidated financial statements include Lazard Ltd and its subsidiaries including Lazard Group and Lazard Group’s principal operating subsidiaries: Lazard Frères & Co. LLC (“LFNY”), a New York limited liability company, along with its subsidiaries, including Lazard Asset Management LLC and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “LAM”); the French limited liability companies Compagnie Financière Lazard Frères SAS (“CFLF”), along with its subsidiaries, LFB and Lazard Frères Gestion SAS (“LFG”), and Maison Lazard SAS and its subsidiaries; and Lazard & Co., Limited (“LCL”), through Lazard & Co., Holdings Limited (“LCH”), an English private limited company, together with their jointly owned affiliates and subsidiaries. The Company’s policy is to consolidate entities in which it has a controlling financial interest. The Company consolidates: •Voting interest entities (“VOEs”) where the Company holds a majority of the voting interest in such VOEs and •Variable interest entities (“VIEs”) where the Company is the primary beneficiary having the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses of, or receive benefits from, the VIE that could be potentially significant to the VIE (see Note 20). When the Company does not have a controlling interest in an entity, but exerts significant influence over such entity’s operating and financial decisions, the Company either (i) applies the equity method of accounting in which it records a proportionate share of the entity’s net earnings or losses or (ii) elects the option to measure its investment at fair value. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. Lazard Growth Acquisition Corp. I In February 2021, LGAC consummated its $575,000 initial public offering (the “LGAC IPO”). LGAC is a dormant special purpose acquisition company, that was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”). LGACo 1 LLC, a Delaware series limited liability company and the Company’s subsidiary, was the sponsor of LGAC. LGAC is considered to be a VIE. The Company holds a controlling financial interest in LGAC through the sponsor’s ownership of Class B founder shares of LGAC. As a result, both LGAC and the sponsor are consolidated in the Company’s financial statements. The proceeds from the LGAC IPO of $575,000 were held in a trust account, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds in the trust account to the LGAC shareholders in connection with the redemption of LGAC’s Class A ordinary shares, subject to certain conditions. The cash held in the trust account was recorded in “restricted cash” on the condensed consolidated statements of financial condition as of December 31, 2022. Transaction costs, which consisted of a net underwriting fee of $8,500, $20,125 of non-cash deferred underwriting fees (included in “other liabilities” on the condensed consolidated statements of financial condition as of December 31, 2022) and $852 of other offering costs, were charged against the gross proceeds of the LGAC IPO. “Redeemable noncontrolling interests” of $583,471 associated with the publicly held LGAC Class A ordinary shares were recorded on the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of financial condition as of December 31, 2022 at redemption value and classified as temporary equity. Changes in redemption value are recognized immediately as they occur and will adjust the carrying value of redeemable noncontrolling interests to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable noncontrolling interests shall be affected by credits or charges to additional paid-in-capital and noncontrolling interests attributable to certain members of LGACo 1 LLC based on pro rata ownership. The warrants exercisable for LGAC Class A ordinary shares that were issued in connection with the LGAC IPO (the “LGAC Warrants”) meet the definition of a liability under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815 and were classified as derivative liabilities which were remeasured at fair value at each balance sheet date until exercised or cancelled, with changes in fair value reported to earnings. See Note 6. On February 23, 2023, LGAC redeemed all of its outstanding publicly held Class A ordinary shares as a result of LGAC not consummating a Business Combination within the time period required by its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association resulting in the distribution of $585,891 of the cash held in the trust account to the LGAC shareholders. The Company recognized $17,929 of losses on the liquidation of LGAC in “revenue-other” on the condensed consolidated statement of operations for the nine month period ended September 30, 2023. In addition, the $20,125 of non-cash deferred underwriting fees noted above was no longer probable of being incurred and therefore was reversed from other liabilities to additional paid-in-capital. There were no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the LGAC warrants.

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