Japan's Mizuho Acquires Greenhill for $550M to Expand Business in US

Japanese bank holding company Mizuho Financial Group announced the acquisition of Greenhill & Co, one of the oldest Wall Street boutique investment banks, at a price of $15 per share. The all-cash deal values at approximately $550 million, including assumed debt.

The deal will bring around 370 bankers to Mizuho. Following completion of the transaction, Greenhill will operate globally from its 15 locations around the world, serving as the M&A and restructuring advisory business of Mizuho.

Mizuho will maintain the Greenhill brand and its existing leadership team. Among them, Scott Bok, chairman and CEO of Greenhill, will serve as Chairman of the M&A and restructuring advisory business. Kevin Costantino and David Wyles, Greenhill Co-Presidents Kevin Costantino, will become Co-Heads of the business. The Greenhill business will be part of Mizuho's banking division, led by Michal Katz, Head of Investment and Corporate Banking for Americas at Mizuho.

Jerry Rizzieri, President and CEO at Mizuho Securities USA, said: "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. 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."

Scott Bok, Chairman & CEO at Greenhill, said: "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. 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."

Masahiro Kihara, President and Group CEO of Mizuho Financial Group, and Shuji Matsuura, Chairman and CEO of Mizuho Americas, said in a joint statement: "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. 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 within this year, subject to Greenhill shareholder and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Japanese banks have also been expanding their businesses in the US. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group boosted its stake in Jefferies in April, while Mitsubishi UFJ has a long-standing relationship with Morgan Stanley. Nomura had been expanding its international investment banking team through new hires in the US and acquired boutique Greentech Capital Advisors (now "Nomura Greentech") in 2019.