U.S. boutique banks woo French bankers in Paris advisory push - sources

Greenhill & Co

17/10/2019 19:00

* Evercore, Centerview among banks hiring in Paris – sources
    * Evercore working with headhunting firm Charta Partners –
sources
    * Lazard's Constant, Pasqual to join boutique bank - sources
    * Lazard's Pigasse held talks with Mediobanca, boutiques -
sources

    By Pamela Barbaglia, Gwénaëlle Barzic and Rob Cox
    LONDON/PARIS/NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Several U.S.
boutique investment banks are looking to hire senior staff in
Paris in the wake of Britain's departure from the EU and have
poached bankers from France's most established advisory firms,
including Lazard  LAZ.N , sources told Reuters.
    New York-based Evercore Inc  EVR.N  has tapped headhunting
firm Charta Partners to hire French bankers with long-standing
relationships with the country's key companies, sources said, as
it prepares to open an office in Paris.
    Evercore competes head-to-head with U.S. independent
advisory firms Centerview, Greenhill  GHL.N , Perella Weinberg
and Moelis  MC.N , who are all also looking to hire in France.
    The push comes as Britain is finalising its planned
departure from the EU, prompting large investment banks and
independent advisory outfits to bulk up their presence across
Europe to maintain access to continental clients. 
    Paris offers an attractive European hub for international
banks which are trying to spread their bets away from London and
Frankfurt. 
    But France's ranking in European deal-making has dropped
since a record 2017 when it was Europe's fourth biggest M&A
market with $105 billion worth of deals, according to Refinitiv
data.
    In 2018 it was overtaken by Italy, falling to seventh place
in European league tables after closing just $54 billion worth
of deals, the data shows. 
    In the first three quarters of this year, it generated less
than $40 billion worth of deals, none of which were
transformational transactions following the aborted merger of
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles  FCHA.MI  and Renault  RENA.PA  in
May.
    Yet international banks remain confident that the market
will pick up again, betting on the ambitions of large French
companies to boost their global presence through sizable M&A
deals.
    "It's a good time to be a French banker. In fact, seasoned
French bankers are in high demand right now," said a
London-based headhunter, adding the U.S. boutiques had
aggressive hiring plans.
    A Paris-based investment banker who recently left a
bulge-bracket bank told Reuters he had received four different
proposals to join U.S. boutiques.
    "Paris is a one-stop shop," said a French government
official who previously worked as a banker. "Banks, insurers,
large conglomerates and industry bodies are all close to each
other."
    Greenhill in September hired Amelie Negrier-Oyarzabal, a
former partner at Lazard for 16 years, to lead its efforts to
open a French hub.
    Two other Lazard bankers - Nicolas Constant and Pierre
Pasqual - left the firm in early October to join an undisclosed
U.S. boutique, sources told Reuters.
    Constant was a seasoned Lazard managing director who spent
14 years at the firm, focusing primarily on private equity,
while Pasqual was a director who joined in 2012 from Barclays.
    Their departure has triggered rumours that Lazard's French
boss Matthieu Pigasse could also leave the firm, sources told
Reuters, after he recently held talks with several boutiques
including Evercore.
    Lazard denied that Pigasse is leaving the firm but confirmed
that Constant and Pasqual had resigned. 
    Evercore and the other banks declined to comment.
    
    POACHING PIGASSE
    Pigasse played a key role in winning a high-profile mandate
for Lazard for the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of
Saudi Aramco, pushing out Evercore who had been previously
retained by the oil giant in 2017.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N24J5X7
    Pigasse went to Riyadh over the summer when the Aramco
pitches took place, a source with knowledge of the matter said,
and also worked on the Saudi company's first international bond
issue earlier this year.
    Lazard's Aramco win gave Pigasse prestige outside France,
making him a top candidate for U.S. rivals.
    Earlier this year the 51-year old banker held talks with
Mediobanca  MDBI.MI  over a possible move to the Italian
investment bank, led by Chief Executive Alberto Nagel, two
sources with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.
    Mediobanca was not immediately available for comment.
    Milan-based Mediobanca has also been seeking to win market
share in France and Pigasse contacted the Italian firm in March
while it was in the process of buying a 66% stake in French
advisory boutique Messier Maris & Associés, a deal announced in
April, the sources said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN21S0WY
    Pigasse did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
    Other newcomers in France include Perella Weinberg, the
investment bank founded by Joe Perella and Peter Weinberg, which
opened an office in Paris in 2018, luring French bankers from
Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.
    Perella was recently appointed by French engineering and
digital services firm Altran as its sell-side adviser during
takeover discussions with business consultancy firm Capgemini,
several sources said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N23W1F1
    Centerview is also among those on the lookout for French
rainmakers, a source familiar with its strategy said, and would
only launch a Paris office once a senior dealmaker was
available.
    Moelis has opened an office on Paris' Champs-Élysées and it
has advised international clients looking to buy French assets.

 (Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis; Editing by Kirsten
Donovan)
 ((pamela.barbaglia@thomsonreuters.com;  +442075427723; Reuters
Messaging: pamela.barbaglia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))