Boutique investment bank Evercore is set to launch an operation in Paris, hiring dealmakers in the French capital as its larger rivals also bolster trading functions in the city after Brexit.
Evercore is planning to start its French office in September or October, with around 15 dealmakers initially, people familiar with the move told Financial News.
Among the new recruits in the French capital is Laurence Hainault, the head of Credit Suisse’s European technology media and telecoms dealmaking team, who was hired by Evercore in June alongside other top bankers and more junior employees.
Other juniors will also be based in Paris, dealmakers told FN, but the boutique is still searching for a senior banker to lead the team in the city. One senior dealmaker at Evercore said there was already a “critical mass” of bankers in Paris ahead of the official launch.
Evercore’s Paris office will initially focus on M&A and private capital markets, the people said, but will build up to cover all of the products it covers in other locations. The bank shelved plans to open an office in the French capital in 2020 after some senior hires fell through.
Evercore did not respond to requests for comment.
The boutique investment bank has maintained a hiring push of senior dealmakers even as larger rivals make deep cuts to their teams amid a slump in M&A activity. Chief executive John Weinberg said it was an “extraordinary time to recruit exceptional talent”. Evercore has increased its headcount by 110 bankers over the past year.
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“I honestly don’t see us stopping,” Weinberg said during its second-quarter earnings call.
Evercore’s boutique rivals have also opened in Paris in recent years. Centerview Partners kicked off an office in the French capital with former Lazard rainmaker Matthieu Pigasse at the helm alongside 12 other bankers. Last year it hired Barclays’ head of investment banking in France, Yann Krychowski, as a partner.
PJT Partners, Perella Weinberg Partners and Moelis have all also opened Paris offices.
While Brexit has forced investment banks to relocate some staff from London to the continent, a knock on effect of the UK’s departure from the EU has been large firms hiring more dealmakers on the ground. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are among those banks to increase headcount in Europe, with many senior dealmaking roles that would have previously been based in London shifting to cities including Paris, Milan and Frankfurt.
Meanwhile, the French capital has benefited from an influx of trading talent from London in the wake of Brexit, and Wall Street banks have been upping recruitment. Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are among the banks hiring hundreds of sales and trading employees to fill new trading floors in Paris.
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