May 22 (Reuters) – Mizuho Financial Group Inc (8411.T) will buy US M&A advisory firm Greenhill & Co Inc (GHL.N) for $550 million including debt, the companies said on Monday, as Japan numbers 3 are the eyes of the lender. The bulk of the world’s largest investment-banking fee pool.
Greenhill shares more than doubled to close at $14.66 on Monday following the announcement, just below the offer price of $15 per share.
Monday’s rally helped Greenhill shares pare losses accumulated over the past 12 months due to the impact of higher interest rates on deal-making. The stock was priced at $20 in its 2004 initial public offering.
The Greenhill business will sit within Mizuho’s banking division, which will be led by Michael Katz, head of banking in the Americas. Its president and chief executive officer, Scott Bock, will become president of the M&A and restructuring advisory business.
“We have a strong M&A practice in Japan. But it’s really early days in the US and other regions. So this is a way for us to move forward in a meaningful way,” said Jerry Rizzieri, President and CEO of Mizuho Securities USA. Is.” , told Reuters in an interview.
Mizuho has doubled US debt underwriting since its acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s North American corporate debt portfolio in 2015, leaving M&A advisory and equity underwriting as targeted areas for further growth.
Last year, it bought Texas-based private equity placement agent Capstone Partners.
Other Japanese banks are also increasing their presence in the United States.
Mizuho’s bigger rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) announced in April that it would raise its stake in US investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc (JEF.N) from 4.5% to 15%.
Yoshiro Hamamoto, CEO of Mizuho’s brokerage arm, told Reuters last year that the group had “room to grow” in the United States and that an acquisition was an option it was exploring.
Greenhill was founded in 1996 by Robert Greenhill, a former Morgan Stanley executive.
Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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