Lazard M&A vs. BB M&A

What are the pros/cons of doing Lazard M&A as opposed to a BB M&A (ML, Citi, CS)? My feeling is that you would see more different kinds of deals at a BB but would end up being a model monkey. At Lazard, you would see less types of deals but have a more intuitive feel for each transaction.

 

BBs obviously do get more deal flow, esp. the mega-deals. But if you want a better learning experince, go Lazard. You'll be forced to take on a lot more responsibility as structure is very lean in the middle and so they run with smaller deal teams.

 
Yeeah:
Do groups at Lazard use templates? Most BB M&A build them all from scratch.

Is that even true? I thought mostly its popped into Capital IQ and then heavily edited as needed...

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Best Response

Meh, modeling is an important skill to have, but once you've built a couple LBO's/M&A models there isn't much to learn. Before I started in banking, I really looked forward to modeling and thought it would be a highlight of my experience. Banking models are rarely interesting or require much thought. Learning about the deal process, structuring the deal (related to modeling), and how things work is more imporant than picking a group that models from scratch. IMHO, the biggest advantage of doing lots of modeling is that you really learn what the drivers of a business are.

 

i would take lazard unless you're talking MS. theres a range of other factors to consider as well, though, mostly personal preference. you cant go wrong with either.

 

I would vote for the BB, prestige non-withstanding. At the BB, you will be guaranteed a more standard experience and again at the junior level it is best to see the biggest volume and types of transactions. You will see more transactions at a BB but may do more in-depth analysis at Lazard.

 

At the senior levels, Lazard's full of people who are sacked from the BBs. Do you really want to be led by such people? I spoke to a couple, and they are not impressive at all.

Another thing to consider is that Lazard has no international brand recognition. If you are thinking of building a global career, you are better off with a BB.

 

whats with the trashing of Lazard on this forum its a great M&A bank hands down.. top leadership and very prestigious deals they do deals for china government and they did KKR/tpg/txu deal i would rank Blackstone - goldman - Morgan Stanley - lazard - lehman as top five places to do banking after undergrad lazard owns most BBs in terms of M&A experience and exit opps

 
kingbling89:
whats with the trashing of lazard on this forum its a great M&A bank hands down.. top leadership and very prestigious deals they do deals for china government and they did kkr/tpg/txu deal i would rank blackstone - goldman - morgan stanley - lazard - lehman as top five places to do banking after undergrad lazard owns most BBs in terms of M&A experience and exit opps

When did Lazard ever do deals for Chinese government?

 

my bad in using extreme words like "owns" but i do think in terms of M&A deals and M&A work, Lazard is particularly strong and perhaps stronger than alot of the BBs out there not at all saying that lazard is better than BBs at other stuff they also have a very small analyst class every year and almost all of them get great exit opps in terms of where they want to go let me know if im wrong

 

Just an FYI: Lazard was in the bottom of the T10 in the league tables for M&A. Not to say that its M&A practice isn't great, but to say that its stronger than a lot of the BBs out there is tough to say. Overall, the performance per senior banker is out of this league (as is Evercore's M&A), but in terms of volume and fees (in $$), Lazard barely cracks the T10.

Personally - I am a big Lazard fan and I have advised others in the past to take Lazard M&A over anything but Goldman.

... Just wanted to point out a couple of facts.

 
baloogafish:
Just an FYI: Lazard was in the bottom of the T10 in the league tables for M&A. Not to say that its M&A practice isn't great, but to say that its stronger than a lot of the BBs out there is tough to say. Overall, the performance per senior banker is out of this league (as is Evercore's M&A), but in terms of volume and fees (in $$), Lazard barely cracks the T10.

... Just wanted to point out a couple of facts.

Well yea obviously. Lazard is like 1/10 the size of a lot of these bigger firms, so they are going to work on less deals than any BB. But as an analyst, you might get to be involved in more deals since there are hundreds of just first year analysts at a BB. Personally - I am a big Lazard fan and I have advised others in the past to take Lazard M&A over anything

 

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