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bump...also got one coming up...
merchant banking (Originally Posted: 06/04/2012)
Hello Monkeys,
Whats going on? I need advice for an interview tomorrow with a "merchant bank." Focuses on middle stage growth companies in advisory, also acts as a principal investor, so im guessing this is like PE. Pardon me if i am wrong about this. Anybody have any more info on merchant banking and what the interview will be like. I am a rising junior in nyc at a non target. All advice would be greatly appreciated.
Merchant banking can be used interchangeably with with private equity, it's historically been used for sell-side banks' private equity franchises (i.e. Allen & Co. Merchant Banking, GS Merchant Banking, etc.).
At the bigger firms, yes, it is generally synonymous with private equity. In the middle-market, typically merchant banking means the group does both investment banking/advisory and principal investing (generally as a fundless sponsor) themselves, rather than having separate teams.
that cleared up a lot of confusion, thanks. any info on what the interview would be like?
have you tried looking on GlassDoor? Might be some helpful info there. I've interviewed with a number of merchant banks this year (all lower-MM) and honestly the interviews were all over the place. Know the basics for any IB/PE interview. Resume walkthrough, why that company, know what they do, know why you want to work in merchant banking. Aside from the basics, I've gotten everything from super hard technical questions to completely random personality type stuff. Just study the IB and PE guides. you'll be good.
I interned at a merchant bank in Cali. PM me with any questions
dude its the same shit. u will get asked the same questions as any ib interviews look thru the WSO guides and you will be fine.
One of the interesting questions you could ask them is how they manage the conflicts that exists between advisory/principal business. For example - how does the firm separate out deals it's advising on vs. investing in, and if they do decide to pass on an investment, under what circumstances would they still market it to their advisory clients...
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