Moves: Nomura hires two bankers for transport technology deals

BRIDGESTONE

16/05/2023 20:09

By Isla Binnie
       NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Japanese investment bank
Nomura  8604.T  has hired two investment bankers to lead its
coverage of mobility and automotive clients in Europe and the
United States through its sustainability-focused division
Greentech. 
    Former self-driving truck company executive Richard Hawwa
started working at Nomura Greentech in San Francisco last week,
and Alex Bleck will move to lead the bank's team in Frankfurt
from his previous role at Deutsche Bank AG  DBKGn.DE  in July, a
Nomura spokesman said.
    Nomura hopes to capitalise on consolidation among incumbent
vehicle and equipment makers and new companies that have
proliferated in recent years, some of them funded by special
purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) which took Wall Street by
storm in 2021.
    "You saw in the "de-SPAC" furore a lot of standalone young
electric vehicle companies raise capital. The reality is the
path to success and scale, to build a standalone company, is
dramatically complex," Duncan Williams, global co-head of Nomura
Greentech, told Reuters.
    "I think we are increasingly likely to see those companies
being consolidated, being acquired by bigger businesses or
potentially merging with one another," Williams added. 
    Williams pointed to tyre industry veteran Bridgestone Corp's
 5108.T  $391 million purchase of software firm Azuga Holdings
as an example a deal he expects to see more of as industry
suppliers look to control more of the value chain.
    Investment banks in Europe and the United States raked in
more than $700 million in fees for deals in
technologically-advanced mobility and transportation in 2021,
Williams said, adding he expected the area to remain lucrative.
    "Going forward we see ... there will be continuity around
$300 million plus of fees to the street and obviously we are
looking to build a material share around that," he said.

 (Reporting by Isla Binnie in New York
Editing by Greg Roumeliotis)
 ((isla.binnie@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
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