CIBC World Markets reached a peak in 1999 and 2000, when the investment bank cracked the top ten of U.S. issuers of high yield bonds and the top twenty in mergers and acquisitions advisory. In 1999, CIBC World Markets backed Gary Winnick and his company Global Crossing to build optical fiber cable connections under the ocean. In 2000, CIBC realized a gain of $2.0 billion from its relatively small equity investment in Global Crossing, representing more than 20% of the bank's profits. On the back of the success in Global Crossing, CIBC backed the three heads of its CIBC Argosy Merchant Banking funds in a new private equity operation known as Trimaran Capital Partners. Trimaran closed on a $1 billion fund in April 2001, with capital provided primarily by CIBC.