Investment bankers like Michael Grimes play CityVille, too

For an IPO as lucrative as Zynga's $1 to $2 billion, Morgan Stanley Managing Director Michael Grimes (pictured) was seemingly willing to do anything, even play CityVille for hours on end, to gain the company's trust, Bloomberg reports. It's a strategy Grimes has used to get the investment firm in on the IPO (initial public offering) of many a company, but Grimes took his dedication to new heights in connecting with Zynga CEO Mark Pincus over his company's hit games CityVille and Empires & Allies.

And Grimes didn't just hop in to see what the fuss was all about, he all but mastered CityVille. "It's not just that Michael is building out a level or two, he's pretty advanced in his game playing," said Michael Kim of Cendana Capital, who worked with Grimes from 1997 to 2000, and is connected with both Pincus and Grimes over CityVille.

But keep in mind, Grimes' efforts in CityVille were likely to grab Pincus' attention as his company tried to tempt Zynga into choosing it to lead an IPO. However, we bet Grimes liked the game ... at least a little bit. Then again, who knows whether Grimes didn't just get a secretary to play for him--we're gonna go with the "Michael Grimes is a CityVille fanatic" scenario, anyway.

[Via Business Insider]

[Image Credit: SF Gate]

Do you think Michael Grimes is really behind the keyboard when playing CityVille and Empires & Allies with Zynga CEO Mark Pincus? Do you think it's cool of high-level execs to play Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.