If you’re a banker to the food industry, now is the time to be working for Lazard and Centerview Partners. The independent investment bank and the banking boutique have got the prime spots on the epic Kraft Foods-Heinz deal. Both could earn huge fees. Both are likely to have their rivals salivating over the missed opportunity.
Beyond the food industry, however – and in IBD as a whole as opposed to simply M&A, Lazard and Centerview are global shrimps. Neither ranks in the top five globally for any of the key sectors in which investment bankers operate. That distinction goes to the major US investment banks and sometimes – although rarely – Deutsche.
The chart below, taken from the new Q1 league tables by data provider Dealogic shows that Goldman and Morgan Stanley had the strongest teams in most sectors in Q1. The exceptions were energy, industrials and real estate – led by Citi, BAML and JPM respectively. If you work in IBD, you may want to steer your career accordingly.
Source: Dealogic