Mizuho Financial Group has agreed to acquire Greenhill & Co in an all‐cash transaction at $15 per share, reflecting an enterprise value of approximately $550m, including assumed debt.
Through this transaction, Mizuho will accelerate its investment banking growth strategy, building on Greenhill’s 27 year history of advising important clients on significant mergers & acquisitions, restructurings and capital raising transactions.
“Greenhill is a proven industry leader, and its team has led many of the largest and most complex transactions for clients globally, across a wide range of sectors,” said Jerry Rizzieri, President and CEO, Mizuho Securities USA.
“Mizuho is committed to the expansion of its investment banking platform, and we are excited for the Greenhill team and brand to become a core pillar of this strategy.”
Following completion of the transaction, Greenhill will operate globally from its 15 locations around the world as the M&A and restructuring advisory business of Mizuho.
That business will maintain the Greenhill brand, and the existing Greenhill leadership team will remain in place.
Greenhill Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Scott L. Bok will become Chairman of the M&A and restructuring advisory business.
Current Greenhill Co‐Presidents Kevin Costantino and David Wyles will become Co‐Heads of the business.
The Greenhill business will sit within Mizuho’s banking division, led by Michal Katz, Head of Banking in the Americas.
“We are pleased to be announcing a transaction that provides significant benefits to each of our stakeholders—clients, employees and stockholders. Our clients will continue to receive the same high quality advice from the same team, operating under the same brand, overseen by the same management. In addition, those clients will now benefit from access to the wide range of financing, capital markets and other products offered by Mizuho, one of the world’s leading banks. Our employees will see little change in their day‐to‐day work and will benefit from access to Mizuho’s vast global client base as well as its broad range of products,” said Scott Bok, Chairman & CEO, Greenhill.
“Our firm was a pioneer in the concept of the publicly traded independent investment bank, and that format served us well for many years. Now, given the evolution of markets, we believe our clients and employees will benefit from our team becoming part of a larger, more diversified financial institution.”
With this transaction, Mizuho will welcome Greenhill’s 370 employees, as well as the valued client relationships they have built around the world.
Both management teams are committed to a seamless transition for all clients and employees.
“We are thrilled to add one of the preeminent M&A firms globally to our platform, and we see meaningful synergies in the combination that will benefit all of our stakeholders,” Masahiro Kihara, President and Group CEO of Mizuho Financial Group, and Shuji Matsuura, Chairman and CEO of Mizuho Americas, said in a joint statement.
“Our Banking division today serves over 1,300 clients in the Americas and 900 in Europe, as well as over 70 percent of all listed companies in Japan. We look forward to making Greenhill’s M&A and restructuring capabilities available to our clients, and to offering our full range of solutions to Greenhill’s clients. The transaction represents an important strategic milestone, and we plan to continue to invest in the growth of our global banking franchise.”
The transaction is expected to close by year end and is subject to approval by Greenhill stockholders, as well as required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
