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Lazard and Rothschild stand above all other EBs in terms of presence and deal flow in Europe as you noted. Rothschild is definitely a bit more of a volume shop compared to Lazard, and Lazard also edges out Rothschild in terms of exits if you care about that.

PWP and PJT are the next strongest in terms of deal flow (and arguably on par with Lazard and Rothschild in terms of exits). PWP's deal flow in Europe is very strong, although it should be noted it's also very much oriented towards Industrials, P&U/Energy, and Telecom (and they also tend to be stronger in the EU than UK). Their rx deal flow is also solid as well. PJT's rx deal flow is much stronger than its M&A deal flow, although they still get their share of large mandates on the M&A side. 

CVP's presence in Europe is a bit smaller than PJT and PWP's, although they've been focused on building out their Paris office (and they've gotten some heavy hitters). Deal flow is still quite solid, and they've landed a number of large mandates in the past. RX presence in Europe isn't on par with PWP and PJT. They still exit very well.

Evercore is much more MM-oriented in Europe compared to their US deal flow, and in terms of deal experience and quality of deal flow Evercore isn't on par with PWP/PJT/CVP. The Evercore name still allows them to exit quite well though. Moelis and Greenhill are definitely also oriented towards the MM side in terms of deal flow, and while they still exit well, they don't do nearly as well as the others.

In terms of dealflow and deal experience, I'd argue it goes Lazard/Rothschild > PWP/PJT > CVP > Evercore > Moelis > Greenhill. In terms of exits, I'd argue it's Lazard > PJT/PWP/Rothschild > CVP/Evercore > Moelis > Greenhill. That being said, MFs in Europe tend to prefer GS/MS/JPM far more than every EB except maybe Lazard. 

 

Definitely very strong. Good mix of both debtor and creditor mandates, and their selective high-fee business model results in getting the most complex and hairy situations. Some recent mandates I can think of include creditor-side advising on Holland & Barrett's exit from Russia, advising H2O on the whole Lars Windhorst mess, debtor-side on Garrett Motion's Chapter 11, creditor-side on NAC's Chapter 11. They were also on the highest-profile European RX/distressed deal so far this year advising Uniper on its rescue financing from the German government. 

 

From a London standpoint:
 

You’re really overstating PWP imo. Do you work there ? However it is probably better in Germany  

CVP is good but way below Laz/Roth. EVR is also not as good as the US.

I would not tier Greehill with Moelis. Moelis’ exit are at the same level as PWP/CVP imo and top tier for distressed/credit (many recent exits to Apollo and BX special sits teams). EVR I don’t know but not miles above 

PJT I would think is much better in RX than the rest.

 

Anyone have any idea on what Rothschilds strongest industry groups are? (London in particular) I've heard HC is decent but anyone know about Consumer or Industrials/BS?

 

Lazard and Rothschild have large Paris presences (should also note that the sovereign advisory teams for both firms are largely based out of there). Aside from those two, CVP and PWP also have quite strong Paris offices. CVP Paris is led by Pigasse (arguably the top dealmaker in France along with Messier) and covers quite a variety of industries, while PWP Paris focuses on Telecom, Infrastructure, and FIG and is led by rainmakers in the space. PJT also has a small presence in Paris.

 

The strongest boutiques in DACH (specifically Germany, although that's where most DACH groups are run out of) are definitely Rothschild, Lazard, and PWP.

Rothschild is in Frankfurt and has the largest presence in Germany by headcount. Like Rothschild everywhere else in Europe, the office churns out deals and by far does the highest volume when counting by number of deals, although they work on everything from the lower end of MM to large-cap client coverage. Strong across the board. They work their juniors hard, and the culture there is sweaty although people there tend to be pleasant.

PWP is in Munich and has by far the smallest office of the three, although PWP Munich is a powerhouse and the office works together often with the London team led by Dietrich Becker. The office has historically been run by Schenck and Jentzsch, who are among the two biggest individual rainmakers in German IB, although Schenck left to start Lazard's Munich office last year. Rumor is that PWP's reloaded by poaching MS's Co-Head of DACH IB, who's also very strong, so the office will likely be just fine. Historically the office is very large-cap focused, and it's a bit harder to compare the deal flow with Lazard/Rothschild given the much smaller headcount and as a result the fewer deals the office does, but PWP consistently gets on the region's headliner deals. Culture there is the best among the three offices. 

Lazard has offices in both Frankfurt and Munich. Most bankers are in Frankfurt, with Munich being a new office led by Schenck. Traditionally been a solid office although definitely weaker than Rothschild, but Schenck's a huge boost for the office. Deal flow has traditionally ranged from everywhere from MM to large-cap with strong volume, and Schenck will likely provide a boost to the firm's large-cap coverage in the region as well. Culture there is tough, and hours are high.

 

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