Japan's Mizuho to buy M&A advisor Greenhill

Mizuho said it would purchase Greenhill in an all-cash transaction at USD 15 per share, reflecting an enterprise value of approximately USD 550m, including assumed debt. Greenhill will become the M&A and restructuring advisory business of Mizuho, retaining its existing brand and under the leadership of the existing management team. It will sit within Mizuho’s banking division.

Greenhill has 370 staff working out of 15 offices globally, including bases in Hong Kong, Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo. It provides advice on M&A, restructuring, financings, and capital raising to corporations, partnerships, institutions, and governments.

The firm entered the secondaries space in 2015 with the acquisition of Cogent Partners for up to USD 97.6m. Eight managing directors moved over, although some have since left the business. For example, Asia-based Dominik Woessner left for Lazard in 2018 and recently joined BDA Partners.

The secondary advisory team claims to have worked on transactions involving more than 13,000 LP partnership interests representing approximately USD 300bn in commitments. It also helps fund sponsors use the secondary market to restructure or recapitalise funds, generate liquidity through secondary direct transactions, and sell stakes in fund management entities.

“Greenhill is a proven industry leader, and its team has led many of the largest and most complex transactions for clients globally, across a wide range of sectors,” said Jerry Rizzieri, president and CEO of Mizuho Securities USA, in a statement. “Mizuho is committed to the expansion of its investment banking platform, and we are excited for the Greenhill team and brand to become a core pillar of this strategy.”

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• Topics
• Advisory
• Secondaries
• North America
• Greenhill Cogent
• Secondaries
• M&A