What are the up & coming IBs?

Hey Monkeys,

Sitting here late trying to crank on a deck & the thought popped in my head - what are the up and coming LMM & MM shops or groups? Following the “Fall of William Blair” post got me thinking who could step up and take their place.

Some IBanks that come to mind -

  • Cowen
  • Piper Sandler
  • BBH
  • Stephens
  • DA Davidson (Industrials?)
  • Ziegler

Would love to hear what you guys are hearing / seeing in the market.

What books from the PE side you are seeing cross your desks more frequently?

48 Comments
 

Would recommend against moving to MM for better wlb. Not sure who started this myth but I can tell you that it is not much better at any name brand MM shops (your HLs and Bairds). Obviously team dependant but have heard of some long hours at Opco from friends and would assume any group that is doing well will be busy. Definitely do a lot of diligence and you might have to move to LMM if you really want wlb.

 

Yes and we compete with BBs, at least within my coverage sector. 

I guess now that people push back I would agree that it's misleading to use BB and Baird in same sentence. We don't have nearly the capital markets capacity that those guys do. On an advisory basis within my coverage group though, watchout Goldman. 

 

I think this is very group dependant. Tidal and Axom are pretty niche so its obvious what vertical they are good at. Looking at Opco, the tech group is on the upswing.

For MMs like Baird they have some groups that compete with BB/EB and some that definitely don't. It's a little misleading to say that Baird as a whole is going to be on BB/EB level, but they do have some groups that win pitches against these rivals. Groups like industrials are top notch, the government services team is insane, but like every other bank they have some weaker groups. Not sure what weaker groups are at Baird as these aren't my industry, but maybe something like HC or consumer that isn't talked about much.

 

They don't need to "mature" they need to poach some real MDs with M&A backgrounds to get it poppin'. I have heard they are somewhat "cheap" and IB is not a cheap industry to buy growth in. Bankers are expensive, if you want in to the big leagues you've got to shell out for some BB guys (Think Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Brown Gibson & Langely) 

 

Speaking about Piper, how have they been able to acquire high quality boutiques (DBO, TRS, Valence, and Sandler) in a relatively short period of time? Is their strategy of integrating these shops really gonna work in the long run?

 

I feel one of the big risks with acquiring boutiques is there isn't much holding some of them together once the partners cash out their equity. Some of them wanna stay and run it up at their new overlord bank but in other situations they take the money and stay as long as their contract says they have to but take up working from the boat in Palm Beach. Like honestly for the amount Piper paid for TRS and the deals that TRS does, I feel like if they were really focused on running it up as much as possible they'd have stayed independent. 

Kinda like GH and MIzuho. GH clearly sold out once past its peak and realizing they're better off taking cash today than trying to ressurect their earnings power. 10 years ago I doubt they sell out to Mizuho, because they're better on their own. 

 

OP - This has got to be one of the worst takes I've seen in the last few months on this forum.

Stephens? Really? F*cking what are you smoking.

People saying Tidal need to chill. One big relationship deal doesn't a contender make. Give it time and let's see. 

Sponsors M&A (London)
 

Raine group on the come up - TMT boutique that has been crushing it recently. I think they helped with ARM IPO and a few other major deals. 

Also a healthcare boutique called MTS Health Partners seems to be on the rise - advised Seagen in their $43bn sale to Phizer. Apparently it is very sweaty though. 

 

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