Australia’s crowded investment banking market has done little to dull the interest of overseas firms in securing local opportunities.
Street Talk can reveal Lincoln International, the Chicago-based investment bank which dominates middle market transactions globally, is the latest to arrive in Australia, securing a strategic partnership with Miles Advisory Partners.
It is understood Lincoln and Miles Advisory inked the formal collaboration agreement on Wednesday. It will see the merged firm expand access for clients in both directions.
Tim Miles (front) with (from left) Rohan Manikath, Gareth Cope, Stephen Bowring, Craig Andrews, Lloyd Way and Paul Worsley of Miles Advisory Partners Dominic Lorrimer
Both firms specialise in mid-market advisory services. Miles Advisory was founded in 2002 by Tim Miles and has about 20 advisors in M&A, debt advisory and restructuring. Meanwhile, Lincoln, which is also founder-led, is the second-largest global player in the space, with 850 investment bankers across 18 countries.
“We are just so culturally aligned ... Lincoln also has a number of products that will fill a gap for us,” Miles told Street Talk on Wednesday,
Miles Advisory recently worked for Larry Kestelman’s private equity group Queens Lane Capital on a potential exit from its first-ever investment, stone and tiles business Petra Industries, while Street Talk this week reported the firm had been engaged by The Growth Fund to find buyers for its vehicle leasing business CompassCorp.
Previous assignments have included selling CPE Capital’s crackers business Gourmet Food Group to global giant Mondelez, overseeing tradie favourite Total Tools when it went to Metcash, and advising TSA Management when it acquired WorleyParsons’ Capital Projects Advisory business.
Lincoln International’s interest in Australia comes after a number of larger investment banks arrived in the local market. Jefferies came first in 2019, when it took 30 bankers from CLSA in one go, followed by New Zealand bank Jarden the following year.
More recently, Grant Samuel, which specialises in independent expert reports, has been in on-and-off discussions with little-known Spanish player Alantra, negotiations which so far have had little success. That takeover approach – first reported by Street Talk earlier this month – has split the senior ranks of Grant Samuel despite being handled by the company’s co-chief executive, Damien Elias.
Like Miles Advisory, Lincoln International focuses on private equity deals. It has advised Turn/River Capital on the sale of human resources software group Trakstar to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and AIM-listed In The Style Fashion’s sale to Baaj Capital, a British family office.
Lincoln has had the largest volume of private equity exits in the last two years globally. Its chief executive, Rob Brown, told Street Talk that he was confident Lincoln’s “global reach, deep industry expertise and complementary suite of products will augment the great work Miles Advisory ... already delivers to its ... clients”.
Miles Advisory’s strategic partnership – as Lincoln International’s Australian and New Zealand affiliate – is expected to be announced as early as Thursday. The local firm fielded a number of approaches from different overseas parties before settling on Lincoln International.
“I had to kiss a lot of frogs before I found my princess,” Miles said.
Chicago bankers Lincoln find local pairing with Miles Advisory - The Australian Financial Review
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