Competition in dealmaking remains intense while Japanese bank Mizuho looks to break into the top 10 investment banks in Europe after making a handful of dealmaking acquisitions.
Mizuho wants to emulate its US push in Emea (Europe, Middle East, Africa) by moving up the rankings, according to Slava Slavinskiy, the head of its corporate and investment banking team in the region.
The bank added 370 dealmakers to its rank when it acquired boutique investment bank Greenhill for $550 million in 2023. This boosted its M&A fees significantly and it has ambitions to become a top 10 player in the US as a result.
"We eventually need to get to the same place (in Emea)", said Slavinskiy, who has previously worked at Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, "No investment bank is globally successful without having a significant presence in Emea".
Mizuho had revealed on July 25 that it had acquired specialist energy boutique Augusta & CO in a fresh European push. The firm will form Mizuho's new renewables investment banking division and add 40 dealmakers to its London team. Slavinskiy said Mizuho has built "global M&A sector coverage" with a particular focus on renewables, healthcare and technology.
These are the "sectors of the future" when it comes to dealmaking activity, he added. "We are also heavily invested from hiring into infrastructure", he said. "This is from an advisory, structured finance and supporting finance products perspective. We are top seven in leveraged finance, so that helps enormously to penetrate infrastructure funds of private equity. What we are adding is infrastructure sector and knowledge".
Mizuho is 25th in the Emea investment banking fee league table, according to data provider Dealogic. It is 14th globally and in the US, where it has made gains. The Japanese bank will soon welcome Matthew Ponsonby as president and CEO of Mizuho International.
Ponsonby has spent the past seven years as head of UK global banking at BNP Paribas, helping build out its London dealmaking functions as it upped its investment banking ambitions in Europe.
During the 2020 Covid pandemic, with Ponsonby in charge, BNP Paribas continued to offer financing to clients in desperate need of capital even as some rivals pulled back, pushing it to third in the investment banking league tables in Emea that year.
Under Ponsonby, BNP Paribas's mantra for its UK business was "no excuses". But a top 10 position has remained elusive. It is currently in 11th place in the UK investment banking league tables, according to Dealogic, with $67 million and a 2.1 per cent market share. The French bank has not broken into the top 10 since 2020.
The UK accounts for around 30 per cent of the European investment banking fee pool and is key to gaining ground in the region. Part of BNP Paribas' strategy was to create a corporate banking platform, which is seen as integral to securing a position on UK advisory deals.
There has been considerable consolidation in the sector, including Deutsche Bank's acquisition of London broker Numis for £410 million in 2023. But Slavinskiy said Mizuho is focused on building sector expertise, rather than looking to expand into corporate broking.
"We look at this from a talent perspective, so a team lift out could give us a better result than an acquisition from corporate broking", he said. "it takes a long time to build and I have seen disappointed corporate brokers not getting strategic business. The structure to support it is very costly".
Slavinskiy said Mizuho bank is also looking to hire in the Middle East, which has become a hot spot for both hedge funds and investment banks. He had been in interviewing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last month, he said. "We have around 75 people on the ground, but we are quite ambitious in this area".
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