Mizuho Financial Group Inc has announced that it will acquire independent investment bank Greenhill & Co Inc in an all-cash transaction. The Japanese lender will pay $15 per share of Greenhill, reflecting an enterprise value of about $550 million, including assumed debt.
The acquisition follows Mizuho’s efforts to expand its overseas businesses. Earlier this year, the company planned to acquire Texas-based private equity placement agent Capstone Partners. Of Japan’s three megabanks, Mizuho has been slower to move than bigger rivals Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
The Greenhill business will sit within Mizuho’s banking division, led by Michal Katz, head of banking in the Americas. Greenhill Chairman and CEO Scott L. Bok will become chairman of the M&A and restructuring advisory business.
Mizuho CEO Yoshiro Hamamoto has previously stated that the group’s brokerage arm Mizuho Securities Co “has room for further growth” in the United States and acquisitions are an option the company is exploring. The acquisition of Greenhill is a step in the right direction for Mizuho as it looks to expand its presence in the US.