Lazard vs Moelis Chicago Offices
Any insight into how Moelis vs Lazard are in Chicago? Any other EB's in Chicago to look at? Interested in deal flow, exits, culture
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Lazard RX is very strong in Chicago. Been on some massive distressed deals including Toys R Us. Exits are solid there and many guys end up in NY for PE. M&A is good too but not as active as the NY office - guessing they primarily work on the Midwest industrials deals.
Moelis is also good in Chicago as far as EBs go but less info on that. Anecdotally I’ve talked to a few guys in the office and they were cool and it seems to be quite sought after among summer prospects for Chicago. Not entirely sure how they stack up against other Chicago EB satellites like EVR who does mostly international deals out of that office.
Perella Weinberg Partners
The smallest EB presence in Chicago. Last I heard, Perella Weinberg Partners's Chicago office takes a handful of summer analysts and one summer associate, which confirms their smaller presence in the Chicago market. While I cannot comment on deal flow, culture seems strong. Many of the individuals that I have met from Perella Weinberg Partners's Chicago office are great people.
Lazard
One of the largest EB presences in Chicago from a headcount perspective. Chicago is home for quite a few senior bankers within Lazard's advisory, middle-market and restructuring practices. Lazard had some recent banker churn with certain employees being relocated to New York or lateraling to MM/BB platforms in Chicago. More importantly, it appears that George Bilicic has returned after a brief stint at Sempra Energy. George's return is huge for Lazard's Chicago office. From a culture perspective, I have enjoyed everyone that I have met; however, I have heard rumors of a few unique personalities at the senior level specific to Lazard's Chicago office. Deal flow is strong.
Evercore
In Chicago, Evercore has ~6 managing directors with a few focusing on restructuring. Comparatively speaking, Evercore appears to have one of the larger EB presences in Chicago. I cannot opine on culture specific to this office, but I'd imagine it would be similar to the collegial culture of their New York office. Deal flow is obviously strong.
Moelis
From a culture perspective, Moelis Chicago bankers have been among my favorite in Chicago. I've heard anecdotal stories of recent churn in the Moelis Chicago office, but I am confident that the existing team (and HQ) is committed to the Chicago market. I've heard mixed reviews regarding deal flow, so I'll refrain from commenting for now.
Greenhill
The Greenhill Chicago Team has ~ 15-20 bankers and has been committed to the Chicago marketplace for an extended period of time pre-dating the 2008/2009 recession. The team appears to enjoy strong deal flow and client relationships within the Midwest, which is a testament to the platform's commitment to Chicago. The bankers that I have met are quiet, but more importantly, nice.
Guggenheim
Guggenheim has a newer investment banking presence in Chicago. It's been discussed in other threads highlighting the Chicago banking scene, but I believe the office began with several senior banker laterals from Lazard's middle-market practice and William Blair. Deal flow is comparable with other EBs' discussed above. It might not be fair to comment on exit opportunities at this time given the newness of this office. I've seen quite a bit of in-bound headhunter activity targeting experienced associates, and I'd imagine many of these opportunities are with Guggenheim. I definitely believe that they're committed to competing in the Chicago banking scene.
As always, please feel free to correct me should you disagree with anything mentioned above. I certainly don't intend for this post to be turned into a hierarchy/prestige discussion. Each of these platforms carries extreme respect throughout the banking and sponsor community. Ultimately, your deal experience, modeling skills, and personality will determine placement during buyside recruiting.
Any information on Chicago offices of Houlihan, Guggenheim or Macquarie?
I've added details regarding Guggenheim above.
Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey has a strong presence in Chicago with restructuring (obviously) and consumer & retail considered to be the platform's strongest groups in Chicago. From a cultural perspective, again, I've enjoyed many of the interactions with these bankers. Notice a trend within the Chicago marketplace? I do find a few bankers to be goofy, but I don't think that's ever been a disqualifier in deciding on one's fit with a platform. Houlihan Lokey has an extremely respectable middle-market franchise that competes with William Blair and Robert Baird, and exit opportunities will be group-dependent given the strength of some of the platform's groups.
Macquarie
I do not know much about Macquarie's Chicago office past a few senior bankers lateraling from Credit Suisse a few years prior. Based on other threads here on the forums, I believe this group focuses on paper & packaging and other industrial-focused verticals. I'd imagine exit opportunities would be weaker, comparatively, to some of the built-out EB presences in Chicago, including Lazard and Evercore.
It sounds like the culture may be not as sweaty in Chicago as in NYC for a lot of the EBs? Or are they still pretty bad hours-wise?
Did PJT open an office in Chicago? Thought they had a handful of senior bankers based out there.
They very well may. I haven't met anyone from PJT Chicago. A quick search online shows that they have an office. Gun to head, I would assume the team is small in size with concentration of headcount at the senior banker level. Maybe legacy members of the Morgan Stanley Chicago Team that has slowly decreased in size over the past few years have assisted in the PJT Chicago build-out? Speculation here.
any idea about the BBS (GS, Barclays, UBS, JPM, CS)
Lazard is probably the strongest EB in Chicago. I've heard some not so good things about Moelis Chicago- heard the tmt group there blew up last year
I would argue that their RX group might be one of the strongest groups in the city based on their deal flow.
Stronger than BOTH HL RX and Laz RX in chicago? Not saying you're wrong but that's a bold claim, what dealflow are you referring to?
Moelis Chi stopped doing TMT a long time ago like years back...
false
Lazard’s global head of RX sits in Chicago, so they have some massive deals coming through, especially currently in the retail space. Very strong exits (Brookfield, Farallon and plenty of the big PE names). Not limited to Chicago for exits, if that is your concern.
Is it Tyler Cowan
What were some of the PE names?
Last time I checked (a few months ago) Lazard Chi M&A team got shafted. So I believe they have MM and RX left. I'd take RX over Moelis and Moelis over MM just based on prestige/exits and what not but I'm not really sure if you can even compare them cuz Moelis isn't purely RX or MM they do a mix of a bunch of stuff cuz generalist model. I think it comes down to what one prefers.
Lazard chicago still has an m&a team. they call it midwest advisory
Like 1 analyst and 1 md
Can you recruit for distressed shops for exits from Moelis and PWP Chi? since they're not 100% focused on RX but analysts still get the exposure.
I think it’s doable but definitely harder than you would like. From my conversations with the team, PWP chicago doesn’t do much if any RX, so is Moelis Chicago
moelis chi runs RX confirmed
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