M&A - BB vs. Boutique

BB works on significantly more complex deals. Depending on the boutique (unless you're talking Lazard, GH, etc..), then they're cookie cutter auction deals, quite often.

Start at a BB. If you don't like it, you can always switch to boutique.

I would say a lot depends on the industry. In the energy industry for example, a lot of M&A is smaller firms so MM banks can get in on pretty complex deals. Junior guys will also get more exposure to execs of their client companies at a MM. But those deals likely won't make the front page of the journal either. MM banks also deal with more private clients on M&A assignments.

Simmons is a MM bank and they are practically every energy M&A deal, no matter the size.

How transferable is the skills acquired working for a MM (small - not the Lazard or Evercore type)? Can you leverage it for a BB position?

While the deal may be more complex, you're working on a much smaller aspect of the deal, so you don't really get the benefit of the complexity of the deal.

I would think that certain boutiques (greenhill, sagent, evercore) work on deals every bit as complex.

The basic difference is that at a BB you will work on bigger deals in larger teams and at a MM or boutique you will work on smaller deals with leaner deal teams (might just be you and 1-2 other people working on the deal).

I wouldn't say larger deals are necessarily "more complex" - actually smaller deals tend to be messier and more painful to pull off because people end up arguing over minutiae. Also certain types of M&A (e.g., divestitures, cross-border reverse-mergers, mergers of equals etc.) will be more complex than the usual Company A acquires Company B type of M&A. We're working on a relatively small deal right now that is insanely complex because it falls into one of those categories.

Bigger deals will be more focused on number crunching so you'll gain more financial/modeling skills. Smaller deals, in contrast, are more about process and positioning so you'll be able to tell a better "story" around your experience.

The other difference is you get a lot more client interaction with smaller deals/leaner teams - as an analyst you may get to speak directly to the CFO etc.

If you have to choose, I would second opticalcharge's recommendation and go with a BB to start out. It's harder to "move up" than to "move down" so if you don't like the hours/number-crunching/lack of client contact you can switch to a boutique after your first year.

While you can leverage what you learned at a smaller MM and go to a BB, you will probably be put back a year in the process, e.g. they may make you start over as a first year again. This is kind of ridiculous because you will obviously know way more than the incoming first years but it's just the way things work.

http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/
Mergers & Inquisitions

My mistake. Just want to clarify that I was not talking about whether I should start out at a BB or MM. Here is the story. I have an offer to start with a BB next summer. Currently, I am going to start my internship with a MM. It will last about 6 months. I was wondering whether this opportunity will help me better my chances of getting into the M&A group or hurt it. From what I have heard, the placement into M&A is quite furious. Thanks guys.