Nomura vs Houlihan Lokey

Which would you pick over Nomura or Houlihan Lokey for FT IBD?

To put it simply wondering which one has greater prestige and would bestow better exit opps, both in London and the US.

 

I would take Nomura - had a final round there too. Liked the people and they do have pretty decent placement from what I have heard (had a conversation about this with a former Nomura MD, he also added that their training programme is very thorough). Interviewed with HL M&A in London too. Deal flow is poor. For restructuring it is of course a different story. Just my 2 cents. Ultimately its down to gut feeling and what you think about the people you interviewed with.

 
Best Response
Sav:
peinvestor2012:

Nomura abroad.

Historically I would have gone HL in the US, but it sounds like Nomura is off to a good start rebuilding its IBD stateside.

Nomura dealflow in the US is a joke despite what propaganda they might feed you.

Nomura in London (unless RX), but HL in the US. Easy choice.

Well, shouldn't the recent hires of solid talent change that? After all, it is a relationship-driven business.

 
TheBlueCheese:

How well do M&A groups at HL place into PE? Do you have to be in these 'stand out' groups like CFR and/or ADG? How have those two groups placed historically?

They place decent, maybe not as strong as Lazard MM, HW, WB or Baird, but well enough to give you a shot if you network right and perform.

Depends on the location, but the reason those groups place better is because they have the strongest deal flow.

 

Can't comment directly on the question as I don't know that much about Nomura, and don't know much about HL outside the US.

But with regard to some of the things being said above: 1. Regardless of what Nomura is up to, they are nothing like the Evercores of the world (not in business mode, not in ambitions and certainly not in prestige/reputation... US is too big a piece of the global investment banking business for a bank that calls itself international to ignore... does that bode well for analyst experience and placement? I don't know anyone that works there or has worked there, so I'll abstain from speculating.

  1. Gugenheim never was and never will be at risk of being called an 'elite' boutique. Its more like the Sandler Oneil of media... and thats being generous.

  2. Restructuring is going through a pretty rough time in the US... its really slow. Given the timing of these cycles, you see a huge spike in distress as the floor falls out from under the economy. The problem is that once the economy bottoms and starts trending back upward... even if it stagnates for a bit (as it appeared to do in Europe, although I'd argue its definitely on the upswing now)... all the guys that were going to go BK already have. On the plus side... a RX deals tend to drag on.

My view... HL probably better brand in US... although I don't think anyone can really praise HL for placement.

I'd focus on the group you'll be in, the role you'll have and the deals you'll be working on. Absent a solid brand (which neither HL or Nom will give you for buyside recruiting)... you need to be able to fall back on solid experience and skills.

 

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