Ex-Mercury secondaries head surfaces at DC Advisory

Mercury Capital Advisors’ former head of secondaries has joined the advisory unit of Japanese financial services conglomerate Daiwa Securities Group.

Sabina Sammartino joins as managing director in the GP secondaries team, according to statement. She will be based in London.

Secondaries drives innovation in the “challenging climate we’re facing”, Richard Madden, DC Advisory UK’s chief executive, said in the statement.

Sammartino stepped down from Mercury in February, Secondaries Investor reported. She had joined Mercury in 2015 as partner to lead its secondaries business. Prior to that, she was managing director at secondaries firm Paul Capital, where she was responsible for sourcing, structuring, evaluating, negotiating and closing a broad range of private equity secondaries transactions.

Sammartino’s is the 24th senior hire in as many months for DC, according to the statement, which has been bulking up its secondaries advisory practice. In January, Secondaries Investor reported that Ludovic Douge, who was head of secondaries at European placement agent and advisory firm Jasmin Capital, was joining DC in Paris.

His appointment came around five months after Secondaries Investor reported that the mid-market-focused advisory unit had hired Michael Wieczorek from Elm Capital to advise on GP-led deals, based in London.

DC Advisory mainly offers sell-side M&A services in the mid-markets of the US, Europe and Asia, Secondaries Investor reported last year. It has in recent years expanded into raising private capital for founders and sponsors, and advising them on GP stakes transactions.