Following this article, I'm really wondering whether they're about to be sold/merged... At this point, they are really relying on their brand legacy, similarly to Greenhill
https://www.ft.com/content/cc892654-6d14-4036-8474-a1cbbfba532a
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That article screams "we're about to get acquired or merged". Wasn't Lazard on the verge of getting sold to an Abu Dhabi SWF last year?
No surprise at all if they will. Lazard has been underperforming over the last decade or so. Still a good place, but definitely below the top EBs, or even a place like Moelis that has a much better growth trajectory
Curious what makes you say Moelis has a much better / good growth trajectory?
The firm is only 16 years old
quality of transactions, no. offices/employees, general perception of MOE vs LAZ
Probably
Can someone please post full text of the article for those without a subscription? Much appreciated!
Edit: if you get to the article through search, I think you can read it without the paywall
PE associate can’t access FT?
lol
Here u go bro
can only be viewed 3 times smh
https://on.ft.com/3yP47Jm
Yes, Lazard is no longer an elite EB, it's a failing bank, especially in NA. It's the weakest EB if you don't count something like Guggenheim due to it's growth trajectory. PJT overall is still stronger due to RX.
LAZ is still stronger than MOE or PWP, no?
Weaker growth trajectory, and even take a look at YTD deals across M&A and rx. PWP fraction of headcount and higher on league tables, and Moelis and PWP have been killing it in rx this year. Lazard used to the the dominant debtor side player, not the case anymore, ask anyone still working there. PJT/EVR now in that spot.
I’m not going to go as far as saying “Lazard is the new GHL”, totally different situations. Lazard is institutionalized at this point and much stronger globally, GHL never grew and paid the price as key figures left/retired etc.
Candidly where are they on the league tables anymore? Lazard is a relic. When you consider Lazard’s business model (far more institutionalized, almost an Evercore lite) they should be much higher up than they are especially relative to headcount. PWP has like 650-700 employees and is somehow higher than them. I don’t think it’s particularly a reflection of Moelis and PWP being better as much as it is Lazard just being that much worse now.
Yes - questionable hires junior and senior lead to failure, ass managers at the top
If you mean that they are like Greenhill because of the way they fell relative to their peak, then you're not wrong. Everyone in the industry pretty much acknowledges that they aren't what they used to be. Still a decent firm, but lost a lot of its glamour from the old days. Plus, at this point they have become way too institutionalized (which comes with its own negatives, like abundance of diversity hires who, for the most part, are a pain in the ass).
To be frank, I'm not sure what happened with Lazard. Greenhill's downfall story is pretty straightforward - they simply refused to grow when others did, expanding their coverage and advisory capabilities. As with Lazard, I'd say that it just became very top heavy with a bunch of inflated ego types that drove away a lot of the successful rainmarkers over the years to the likes of EVR, CVP etc
Interesting take on Greenhill. Would you say Centerview having the same fate in a decade or so? After all, they're also sticking to remaining a small advisory firm with no intention to expand
looks like it, judging by its share price and its talks last year to get acquired by a SWF
bump
yes
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