Pending Offers

I am in a similar situation -- deciding between two top notch boutique/middle market firms, and I would say Houlihan no question. I have done extensive research in this space of the market, and HL definitely carries more sway than BMO in terms of deal flow and exit opps. BMO is larger, but HL is elite. In fact, during my superday at Rothschild, I spoke with an ex-HL associate who said that HL was incredible in terms of the competitive nature of the shop, and that it is unmatched anywhere else. If this is the right environment for you, then really no question if you ask me.

In terms of Macquarie, I would say dont even bother. Macquarie is a solid firm, but its US presence leaves something to be desired, and it ranks significantly below HL in the US market. Your exit opps from HL will be much better.

Goodluck man, the positive news is that you cant go wrong.

If you want to weigh in on my situation, i would welcome your opinion. Robert W. Baird vs. Harris Williams?

what do you mean macquarie "ranks significantly below HL in the US market"?

macquarie essentially doesn't compete with houlihan, in that it is not a player in middle market m&a. sure they acquired gca, but this is far from the main focus of the bank in the US. macquarie focuses on infrastructure and project finance in north america and in that area, it is among the best. if this field is interesting to you, definitely consider macquarie. they also don't kick analysts out, but rather promote most of them.

also, his offer at houlihan is for financial advisory services. this is not as good from what I can tell as either m&a or restructuring. in FAS you mostly work on fairness opinions rather than deal execution.

depending on his interests, I'd recommend macquarie, but of course you can't go wrong with houlihan.

lol yea id agree wit ponzi........ do your HW on macquarie.... these australian infrastructure funds have some interesting growth.... fortune recently did a write up on macquarie and they are an interesting firm.... again depends on what you want to do/find interesting....

If I'm not mistaken, Harris Williams was bought by PNC sometime in 2005. I'm not sure if Harris Williams is still operating as an independent subsidiary, or if PNC consolidated. Having no contacts at Harris Williams or PNC, I can't tell you much about it. My feeling is that they are mostly a regional player, and thus their name does not carry very much weight.

Baird is probably in the same position. Being headquartered in the financial capital of the world, Milwaukee, Baird is sure to dominate the banking market. Witticism aside, I have experience dealing with Baird Capital Partners, their PE wing, and they manage somewhere in the range of 1.7-2 billion USD.

In summary: 1) Baird 2) PNC/Harris Williams

since we are ranking banks, what would you say is better BofA in Chicago or Wachovia (platform offer) and if Wachovia what industry groups are strong in terms of deal flow/exit opps

With regards to Macquarie keeping people on:

They have just implemented an internal promotion path that includes a MFin. (Investment Banking) at INSEAD. 2-3 yrs -> INSEAD -> Associate (or what ever they call them, they have different names).

I'm not sure if it's a positive or negative, but definitely a differentiator.

I really like all of the people at BMO, but I am just worried about Deal Flow, since i Don't really see them on league tables, and their NY office is smaler than their Chicago. I am thinking after the 2 - 3 years are up, will I still have the same opportunities if I worked at Houlihan where I am not sure about the people, and would prefer to do typical ibanking work as opposed to the more limited FAS work