Greenhill receives ‘strong commitment’ from Mizuho for future growth

It is business as usual for Greenhill’s private capital advisory unit on the back of its acquisition by Japanese bank Mizuho.

The unit will continue with its focus in secondaries following the transaction, Greenhill PCA co-head Lloyd Bradbury told Secondaries Investor.

Mizuho Americas will integrate the primary capital advisory services of Dallas-headquartered placement agent Capstone Partners and Greenhill’s secondaries business under a newly created Mizuho Private Capital Advisory platform led by Mizuho Americas’ head of banking Michal Katz, according to a statement. Capstone Partners, alongside Greenhill PCA, will retain its brands and leadership.

“We’re obviously very excited about the prospects for integration within the various parts of the Mizuho business,” said Bernhard Engelien, fellow co-head of Greenhill’s PCA business.

Capstone will give Greenhill PCA a broader footprint on the primary side, while Mizuho is an active player when it comes to sponsor coverage, he added.

“That relationship network will certainly be accretive to our activity. Ultimately, the whole advisory market is moving to a solutions-based model”, he said, noting that this applies to both GPs and LPs.

The three brands plan to provide a one-stop shop advisory-led offering, collaborating across the Greenhill and Capstone offerings, said Bradbury. The two units bring together a bigger team with broader offerings and skill sets to solve the most pressing and strategic issues that GPs face, he added.

Further room to grow

Greenhill PCA has had a “strong commitment” from its senior management team to continue to grow the platform, Engelien said.

The US in particular is an area where the combined firm sees opportunity for growth, Engelien said, adding that the team plans to make additional hires there in the near future.

The firm lost managing director and the head of its US sponsor solutions effort Faris Elrabie at the end of last year to Devon Park Advisors, Secondaries Investor reported.

In Asia-Pacific, the Greenhill PCA unit is “very excited to have… an extremely large platform in Japan that is very relevant to sponsors in that market”, Bradbury said.

The unit’s growth is ultimately a function of the availability and fit of senior talent, as well as the development of the secondaries market, Engelien added. Headcount growth will be “incremental more than transformational”, Bradbury added.