Moelis (NYSE: MC) plans to expand its operations in India, according to Reuters, where the boutique investment bank hopes to capitalize on recent trends in dealmaking among financials, telecoms and pharmaceuticals. The news comes on the heels of the bank’s record 1Q revenue of $173.3 million, a 37% increase over the same period last year. Moelis has 17 offices worldwide, including one in Mumbai currently headed by Manisha Girotra, the former head of the Indian unit at UBS.
Across all deal types, Moelis has advised on 639 transactions since Ken Moelis founded the bank in 2007, according to the PitchBook Platform. The vast preponderance of those deals—some 73%—were based in the US, with Asia representing about 4%.
But of that total, India accounts for 35% of the 23 Asia deals on which Moelis has provided buy- or sell-side advising services. One of the biggest deals in the country for the bank was Abu Dhabi-based Etihad’s purchase of a 24% stake in Jet Airways India (NSE: JETAIRWAYS) for $379 million, for which Moelis served as a sell-side advisor in 2013.
At its current pace, Moelis looks set to meet or exceed last year’s total of 129 deals serviced, passing 2015’s brief ebb in the otherwise steadily growing flow of advising activity:
Moelis
Moelis, something of an upstart on Wall Street, ranks 22nd among all investment banks when it comes to the number of deals serviced since the start of 2007, per PitchBook data. But the firm has snagged some headline-grabbing work of late, reportedly securing a lead advising role on Saudi Aramco’s upcoming IPO, slated for sometime in 2018, which could come with a staggering $1.5 trillion valuation, per The Wall Street Journal.
Article by Adam Putz, PitchBook
