PJT Partners to buy Dubai-based advisory firm in Middle East push

PJT Partners

18/09/2024 15:01

Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. investment bank PJT Partners
 PJT.N  known for steering high-profile companies like WeWork
and LATAM Airlines through bankruptcies, has agreed to buy
Dubai-based advisory firm deNovo Partners.
    The deal, expected to close next month, will help PJT expand
its presence in the Middle East and give it access to a client
base comprising prominent businesses and government-related
entities.

    WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
    The deal highlights the growing prominence of Dubai - which
has attracted a number of companies and affluent individuals in
recent years - as a global financial hub. 
    JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N , the biggest U.S. bank, also
established a private banking team in Dubai earlier this month.
    Lenders with global ambitions have sought to secure a
foothold in the Middle East, where governments seeking to reduce
their dependence on oil revenue are creating attractive
investment opportunities.
    The region also has some of the most active sovereign wealth
funds, which investment banks could onboard as clients. 
    
    CONTEXT
    The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, marks the
culmination of a four-year partnership between PJT and deNovo,
established to provide advisory services to clients in the
Middle East.
        PJT has been involved in some of the biggest
bankruptcies in recent years and also advises corporations on
mergers and acquisitions as well as fundraising.
  
        The investment bank was founded by Paul Taubman, a
Morgan Stanley  MS.N  veteran, and later merged with Blackstone
Group's  BX.N  former advisory services businesses
    Since its inception in 2010, deNovo has advised on more than
100 transactions, it said. 
    May Nasrallah, the founder and executive chair of deNovo,
will continue in her role.  

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim
Zahid)
 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com;))