London boutiques exit ops

Hey guys,

How would the boutiques rank in London in regards to exit ops? The names I have come across would be: Rothschild, Lazard, Evercore, Greenhill, Blackstone (M&A and restructuring rather than their PE arm). I am not looking for an actual ranking, but rather some discussion and comparison of these places (and any others I have missed out) about potential opportunities as an analyst. Which of these are a good place for buyside recruitment? Also, focussing on London, how do the BBs compare to the boutiques on this matter? E.g. assuming other factors are the same would it be more/ less preferable to choose a BB over these boutiues?

Would appreciate some information from people currently working in London/ have knowledge of the buyside recruiting there. Thanks.

4 Comments
 

discussed to bone on WSO...

anyway few people will comment that Rothschild has bad exit ops, and few will comment that they are super strong in UK/Europe

bottom line: BX all the way

others are pretty similar with exception of the Rothschild which used to be more of a long-term banking career (not sure if still like that tho) mostly depends on you, your networking, etc. but again - BX

 
Best Response

BX in Europe is great for exits if you start out of undergrad in PE or REPE - unrivalled by any bank over here (e.g. hedge fund exits). Out of the boutiques Lazard has the best exit options out of the group I would say (purely on placement over the last few years from there). If you are at Greenhill or Evercore you should however be equally able to at least get interviews at most reputable shops. In terms of vs. BB it depends on the firm you are going to but generally the boutiques are treated equally to most of the BB's (exception being maybe GS & MS). Some markets focused shops may value some capital markets (e.g. LevFin, ECM, DCM) experience in addition to M&A but generally speaking all big firms (referring to the likes of Blackstone, KKR, Bain Capital etc.) wont really make a difference between boutique or BB.

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