Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (TSE: 8411 and NYSE: MFG) and Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL) today announced a definitive agreement for Mizuho to acquire Greenhill in an all-cash transaction at $15 per share, reflecting an enterprise value of approximately $550 million, 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.
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.
“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.”
“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.
Citi and Mizuho served as financial advisors, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as legal advisors to Mizuho. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to Greenhill.
About Mizuho
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. is the 15th largest bank in the world as measured by total assets of ~$2 trillion, according to S&P Global 2022. Mizuho’s 60,000 employees worldwide offer comprehensive financial services to clients in 35 countries and 800 offices throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia.
Mizuho Americas is the fastest growing region within the Mizuho Financial Group and is a leading provider of corporate and investment banking services to clients in the US, Canada and Latin America. Its capabilities span investment and corporate banking, capital markets, equity and fixed income sales & trading, derivatives, FX, custody and research. Mizuho Americas employs 3,000 professionals across 15 offices within the Americas.
About Greenhill
Greenhill & Co., Inc. is a leading independent investment bank entirely focused on providing financial advice on significant mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, financings and capital raising to corporations, partnerships, institutions and governments globally. It acts for clients located throughout the world from its offices in New York, Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.
