Lazard and Jefferies A&D Groups
Hi! Can anyone provide some more information on the dealflow and culture at the Lazard and Jefferies A&D groups?
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Can offer some color, at an EB Industrials group and get staffed on A&D quite often so I cross paths with both groups a lot.
Both groups are very solid in the space. Lazard A&D is in LA and the culture there is great. My impression is that the office works pretty hard and is a bit grindy but everyone is extremely bright and good-natured. The office makes a killing in MM Sponsor sell-sides. A few recent deals they've done that come to my mind:
- Sell-side advisor for KKR's acquisition of Atlantic Aviation ($4.5B)
- Buy-side advisor for Lindsay Goldberg's acquisition of Summit Interconnect
- Sell-side advisor for StandardAero's acquisition of Signature Aviation's ERO ($230M)
- Sell-side advisor for Triumph's divestment of G650/700 to Gulfstream
- Sell-side advisor for SWK's acquisition of Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing ($1.5B)
- Sell-side advisor for Blue Point Cap's acquisition of Mattco Forge
- Sell-side advisor for Greenbriar's acquisition of PCX Aerosystems
- Sell-side advisor for Hanwha's acquisition of EDAC ($300M)
Jefferies A&D is actually ADG, as they cover Government services as well. They're split between CLT and NYC, and the culture there seems great. The group probably grinds hard as their deal flow is great, but everyone I've come across there has been extremely "fratty" and personable. They have a lot of dealflow, and they do quite a lot of SPAC deals. A few recent deals that come to mind:
- Buy-side advisor for KKR's acquisition of Atlantic Aviation ($4.5B)
- Sell-side advisor for KKR's acquisition of Ross Aviation
- Sell-side advisor for CACI's acquisition of SA Photonics ($275M)
- Sell-side advisor for Tailwind Two SPAC/ Terran Orbital ($1.6B)
- Buy-side advisor for Zanite SPAC/Embraer Aerospace Technology ($2.2B)
- Buy-side advisor for Booz Allen's acquisition of Liberty IT ($725M)
- Sell-side advisor for Genesis Park SPAC/Redwire ($440M)
- Sell-side advisor for Leidos's acquisition of Dynetics ($1.7B)
- Sell-side advisor for Aspirational Consumer SPAC/Wheels Up ($2.1B)
- Buy-side advisor for AeroVironment's acquisition of Arcturus UAV ($410M)
- Sell-side advisor for Blackstone's acquisition of Signature Aviation ($6B)
- Sell-side advisor for Raytheon's acquisition of Blue Canyon ($350M)
- Sell-side advisor for KBR's acquisition of Centauri ($827M)
Not even interested in ADG but +1 to this comment for providing actually helpful info while also providing actual info on dealflow rather than just leaving it at "strong" or "weak" like most other comments.
My firm does a lot in the ADG space, with an emphasis on Gov Services, so I've interacted with the Jefferies team quite often. Their deal flow, as mentioned above, is very strong and they have a healthy mix of sponsor and strategic deals. The team definitely has long hours, but they're very tight-knit and could be described as "fratty". Even though a lot of the bankers are ex-NY bankers who moved down to CLT for lifestyle reasons, the group definitely has more of the relaxed Southern SEC-esque vibe to them than most other banking cultures. I believe the current senior group at ADG have stuck together for a long time (since the days of Wachovia), so that's a testament to the tight-knit culture there.
Can anyone speak to how HL and Baird's ADG teams compare?
HL and Baird are both great in the space, although they definitely focus more on the MM market. HL's ADG team is based in Nova. They lost some heavy hitters a few years ago (who actually went to Baird), but reloaded by buying Bluestone, an ADG boutique. We don't interact with them a lot as they operate in the MM the vast majority of the time, but I've heard the seniors in the office are very bright while the juniors are grinded to the bone. They do a lot of deals (as with the rest of HL), but their deals are mostly in the LMM-MM space. A lot of MM sponsor sell-sides. Some recent deals that I can think of:
- Sell-side advisor for ManTech's acquisition of Gryphon Technologies ($350M)
- Sell-side advisor for Macquarie's acquisition of Procentrix
- Buy-side advisor for CI Capital's acquisition of Cadmus
- Sell-side advisor for ACP's acquisition of Stellant
- Sell-side advisor for ACP's acquisition of MCR
- Sell-side advisor for Shield AI's acquisition of Martin UAV
Baird's team is Defense & Gov, as I believe Industrials handles Aviation. They've definitely improved a lot since they poached a couple rainmakers from HL's ADG team. The office is pretty busy, but the people seem very nice. Their deal flow is also solid, a lot of Gov Services. Some recent deals:
- Sell-side advisor for GovernmentCIO's acquisition of Salient CRGT
- Buy-side advisor for Parsons's acquisition of BlackHorse Solutions ($203M)
- Sell-side advisor for SAIC's acquisition of Halfaker & Associates ($250M)
- Sell-side advisor for Accenture's acquisition of Novetta
- Buy-side advisor for Leidos's acquisition of Dynetics ($1.7B)
- Sell-side advisor for Booz Allen's acquisition of Liberty IT ($725M)
Thanks for the info!
Besides Laz/Jef/HL/Baird, are there any other banks that have separate ADG offices that recruit separate from the generalist/Industrials pools?
Can anyone speak on the William Blair ADG team?
They're located in Charlotte, and are a pretty small team. I believe the seniors are all poached from BlackArch. Don't know anybody there, but I've heard anecdotally that the group head is a nice guy. Deal flow is definitely weaker than the leading MM ADG groups, HL and Baird, but the Blair group is also smaller. Also do a fair number of LMM-MM sponsor sell-sides. Some deals:
- Sell-side advisor for JF Lehman's acquisition of CTS Engines
- Buy-side advisors for Avon Rubber's acquisition of Team Wendy ($130M)
- Sell-side advisor for MDP Covant's acquisition of Aevex Aerospace
- Sell-side advisor for Ross aviation's acquisition of Retrix
God damn bro keeps churning out these deals lmao
It's honestly a lot more informative than the usual threads of "X bank is very strong/weak in the space". Wish most other threads on WSO were nearly this comprehensive.
I know that CVP and PWP don't have dedicated ADG groups and ADG is verticalized into their Industrials groups, but does anyone know how they are in the space?
Both are solid but aren't the best in the space. CVP has Honeywell and GE, two conglomerates that have ADG operations, as clients, so they get those deals, but I can't think of too many deals they've done in the space besides those clients' deals.
I think PWP is stronger in the ADG space, but still not as strong as Jefferies or Lazard, and obviously nowhere close to their number of deals. A few recent deals (perhaps the only recent ADG deals they've done) that come to my mind:
- Sell-side advisor for NextGen Acquisition SPAC/Virgin Orbit ($3B)
- Sell-side advisor for Northrop Grumman's divestiture of its IT business to Veritas ($3.4B)