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Evercore Partners Inc. and Greenhill & Co. Inc. have gone about their businesses differently, but each has been successful in growing revenue in recent years much more quickly than the largest U.S. investment banks.
The two firms each launched in 1996 and have built franchises that compete for the some of the same M&A deals as the largest investment banks. When it comes to overall advisory revenue growth since the economic crisis, they have been able to outpace Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, according to reports from the companies.
Compared to 2009, Citigroup and Goldman saw increases of advisory revenue in 2013 of 13% and 4%, respectfully, while JPMorgan saw a 30% drop, Morgan Stanley a 12% drop and BofA a 3% drop.During the same period, Greenhill's advisory revenue increased 33% and Evercore's increased 127%.
Evercore and Greenhill have seen their revenue jump in part because they have boosted their numbers of senior bankers. Greenhill finished 2013 with 69 managing directors, up nearly 50% from year-end 2008, and Evercore's investment banking segment finished 2013 with 67 senior managing directors, up about 90% from Feb. 5, 2009.
Both firms have been able to add to their senior banker ranks and advisory revenue with acquisitions. Evercore purchased London-based Lexicon Partnership LLP for about $140 million in 2011, and Greenhill purchased Sydney-based Caliburn Partnership Pty Ltd in 2010 for about $90 million.
But they have also been hiring, and many of their additions previously worked at big bank competitors.
For instance, two former Goldman Sachs investment bankers, Daniel Wainstein and Rodrigo Mello, are helping build Greenhill's recently launched practice in Brazil. In 2013, Evercore...