U.S. Bancorp Eyes Europe’s Mid Market

The wave of newly minted, middle-market m&a firms has crossed the Atlantic as U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray in November launched the first U.S.-backed mid-market advisory business in Europe. Setting up shop in London, the group has hired David Wilson to lead what will initially be a four-person team. Wilson, who will be the head of the bank’s m&a and European investment group, had been the joint head of the U.K. investment banking group at ING Barings in London. Wilson’s group will focus on deals in five industry sectors: manufacturing and services, communications, consumer goods, financial institutions, and health care and technology. “Our European m&a practice will create an effective beachhead for further full-service investment banking expansion into Europe. This strategic initiative will also enhance our competitive position in the U.S. by increasing our ability to identify and access foreign buyers and sellers,” said Thomas Schnettler, head of investment banking at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. Wilson has spent more than 19 years in corporate finance. In addition to his most recent stint at Barings, he founded the small-company investment banking team at Banker’s Trust Alex. Brown/Deutsche Bank. He also has worked as the head of smaller-company corporate broking at UBS Warburg in addition to spending four years as an equity analyst at Lehman Brothers and Lombard Odier. Wilson describes the kind of deal that the new unit will seek out as being between $50 million and $1 billion, a market sector that parallels the stateside activity of U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. The average deal size for the U.S. investment bank last year was about $160 million. One advantage of kicking off the service now, Wilson says, is that because of the decline in the deal flow and a rash of layoffs at some competitors, he can get high-quality people at a good price. He also notes that it is not only dealmakers who are unemployed who have shown interest in the Piper Jaffray launch but also some professionals who are in place at larger investment banks. “Even people who have survived the cuts at the big investment banks are talking with us because they know that a shortage of deals will limit bonuses.” Staffing plans call for a gradual increase to about 15 members, as the business dictates. “You won’t see us opening seven offices in cities on the continent. We plan to take a steady approach to growing the business.” Wilson says that given the increased globalization of business, even middle-market companies have to be aware of the macro developments that affect all companies. “You may have five suppliers to the auto industry in the English Midlands. They have to be aware of what’s going on in Detroit and Dussseldorf.” But the pressure to be aware of global business trends is also important for North American companies. Noting that more than 30% of the deals done by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray in North America had an overseas component, Wilson says that an additional advantage of the newly created unit is that it will be a source of information about European deal flow that will be useful to U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray colleagues in the U.S. Overall, Wilson believes that although the London market is quite competitive, the company has a realistic shot at building a business at a reasonable cost base that will complement the parent firm’s stateside activities. Service Appointments Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. – Barry Newman has joined the firm’s investment banking department as senior managing director and vice chairman of the technology group. He will be based in Palo Alto, Calif. Previously, he had been director of global technology corporate and investment banking at Bank of America Securities. SJ Berwin – Laurant Pinot-Lacan has joined this London-based law firm’s Paris office as a partner specializing in m&a and corporate reorganizations. She had been with the law firm of Stibbe Paris. Chadbourne & Parke LLP – Kenneth A. Caruso joined this law firm as a securities and m&a specialist. He had been with Shaw Pittman LLP. CIBC World Markets – Bruce McCarthy was tapped to head the firm’s m&a group. He joined the firm in 1998 from Salomon Smith Barney. At CIBC, McCarthy has been a senior member of the m&a group. Debevoise & Plimpton – Jeff Rosen has joined the firm’s 120-member m&a group as a partner. Formerly he had been a partner in the New York office of O’Melveny & Myers, where he had co-chaired the m&a/private equity group. Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin – The firm has appointed Jack W. Berka as head of its financial advisory services group. He joined Houlihan Lokey in 1983. Since 1993 he had served as national director of the firm’s employee stock ownership plan practice. J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons Inc. – George Councill was been promoted to director of investment banking at the firm. He joined Hilliard Lyons from DCG Corp., where he headed m&a. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCoy LLP – James Ball and David Zemans were named partners in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. Both men specialize in m&a, among other practice areas. O’Melveny & Myers LLP – Ben Logan, a partner at this law firm, was named national leader of the firm’s business reorganization and restructuring practice. Thomas Weisel Partners – The firm has hired Clark Spurrier as a partner and head of its East Coast technology investment banking group in New York. Spurrier had been at Morgan Stanley, where he was a senior banker in the firm’s global technology group. Wachovia Securities – Mark Mealy was named to the consumer and industrial finance and m&a team at this North Carolina-based bank. He had held a similar position at First Union, which merged with Wachovia last September. Corporate Appointments Geac Computer Corp. – Craig C. Thornburn has been appointed SVP of m&a. Thornburn joins the company from the Toronto office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, where he will remain as a partner and continue his practice, which involves m&a, business, and regulatory law. He had been lead counsel for Geac in 2001. Ijoin Systems Inc. – Andrew Ermakov has been appointed president at this leading consolidator of systems integration companies. He will focus primarily on acquisitions. He will also continue to serve on Ijoin’s board of directors. Previously, he had been a financial director at AstraWeb Canada, a diversified web integration company. McGraw-Hill Cos. – Victoria Pao was named VP of marketing and business development at this publishing company. She will concentrate on partnerships and acquisitions, among other responsibilities. Previously, she worked at R.H. Macy Inc. Stellent Inc. – Dan Ryan was promoted to SVP of corporate and business development at this enterprise content company. He had been VP of marketing and development. He will focus on acquisitions and alliances.