Greenhill & Co. Research
Overview
Greenhill & Co. is a leading independent investment bank with 27 years of history as a standalone boutique firm (founded 1996, acquired by Mizuho Financial Group in November 2023). Headquartered in New York with offices in London, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, and Asia-Pacific, Greenhill specializes in providing financial advisory services for significant mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and private capital transactions to a diverse client base of multinational corporations, financial sponsors, and middle-market private companies.
In 2023, Japanese conglomerate Mizuho acquired Greenhill for $550 million, recognizing the firm's world-class M&A and restructuring advisory capabilities and market-leading secondaries business. Post-acquisition, Greenhill operates as Mizuho's dedicated M&A and restructuring advisory division, retaining its brand identity and specialized expertise while gaining access to Mizuho's $2 trillion balance sheet and global resources.
Advisory Approach and Positioning
Greenhill's core thesis emphasizes providing independent, specialized financial advisory to large and mid-market clients on complex, high-stakes transactions. The firm operates as a pure-play advisory boutique rather than a bulge-bracket universal bank, allowing deep sector expertise and undivided client attention. The firm's leadership, including Chairman Scott L. Bok and Managing Directors Kevin Costantino (Co-Head, New York) and David A. Wyles (Co-Head, London), brings decades of transaction experience and established relationships with financial sponsors, strategic buyers, and corporate decision-makers.
Greenhill's positioning centers on five core competencies: (1) exhaustive transaction process management and buyer outreach capabilities; (2) deep industry and operational expertise across multiple sectors; (3) restructuring and distressed advisory; (4) private capital and secondaries market expertise; and (5) experience advising on defensive and activist situations. The firm explicitly avoids the universal banking model, maintaining a singular focus on advisory services to maximize independence and client alignment.
Transaction Track Record
Greenhill has completed a substantial volume of significant transactions across its 27-year history, with particularly notable activity in large-cap M&A and restructuring. Historical highlights include advising on AT&T's landmark $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA (2011), which was among the largest telecom transactions of the era. More recently, the firm advised on BHP's acquisition-related transaction (~$10 billion range, 2023), generating material advisory fees during a period of elevated M&A activity.
In restructuring and distressed advisory, Greenhill has provided financial advisory services on complex Chapter 11 and CCAA proceedings, including advising on the BioSteel sports nutrition restructuring (2023), where the firm conducted a comprehensive sale process for assets acquired by Canadian entrepreneur Dan Crosby and his Coachwood Group. The BioSteel engagement showcased Greenhill's ability to manage court-supervised auction processes and maximize creditor recovery.
Morerecent transactions reflect the firm's continued activity post-Mizuho acquisition: Greenhill acted as sole financial advisor to Ring Energy on an accretive bolt-on acquisition (2025), advised Upbound Group on the acquisition of Brigit, a consumer financial services platform (expected to close Q1 2025), and served as financial advisor to Bending Spoons in the $2.8 billion acquisition of AOL (October 2025). These recent engagements demonstrate sustained deal momentum across consumer technology, financial services, and energy sectors.
Greenhill's secondaries business, bolstered by the 2015 acquisition of Cogent Partners for $97.6 million, is market-leading in private capital secondaries transactions. The firm publishes authoritative market reports on secondaries activity, with 2025 setting a record $231 billion in global transaction volume (up from $171 billion in 2024), positioning Greenhill as a key market participant and thought leader in LP-led, GP-led, and single-asset secondary deals.
Sector Focus and Industry Expertise
Greenhill serves a diverse range of industries with particular depth in financial services, consumer and retail, healthcare, industrial and manufacturing, technology, and real estate. The firm has built specialized teams around these verticals, with Managing Directors bringing operational backgrounds and deep sector relationships.
In financial services, Greenhill advises on deals involving investment managers, private equity firms, credit platforms, and fintech companies. The firm's secondaries business specifically focuses on transactions involving limited partners and general partners seeking liquidity, portfolio rebalancing, or continuation vehicles.
The consumer and retail sector includes experience with consumer products companies, direct-to-consumer brands, specialty retail, and quick-service restaurants. The firm's deal experience includes transactions ranging from early-stage growth companies to established multibillion-dollar enterprises.
Healthcare sector expertise spans physician practice management, healthcare services platforms, medical devices, and specialty pharmaceuticals. The firm understands the unique regulatory, reimbursement, and consolidation dynamics of healthcare transactions.
Industrial and manufacturing experience includes discrete manufacturing (precision machining, contract manufacturing), process manufacturing (specialty chemicals, building products), distribution and logistics, and engineered products. Managing Director Charles Gournay, who joined Greenhill in 2009 from UBS's London Consumer & Retail team, exemplifies the firm's depth in specialized industry knowledge.
Technology and software transactions include enterprise SaaS, industrial software, IT services, and hardware companies. The firm has advised on significant software platform acquisitions and continues to build its fintech and enterprise technology practice.
Real estate, gaming, and hospitality transactions represent another focus area, with the firm providing advisory on asset sales, portfolio transactions, and capital structure matters for large property owners and hospitality operators.
Process and Engagement Model
Greenhill operates using a partnership-driven engagement model where Managing Directors and senior bankers maintain direct client relationships throughout transactions. Rather than institutional process, the firm emphasizes tailored approaches depending on transaction complexity, client needs, and market conditions. For M&A processes, typical engagements involve identifying strategic and financial sponsor buyers, preparing comprehensive marketing materials, managing confidentiality, conducting buyer meetings, and facilitating price negotiations to maximize enterprise value. For restructuring engagements, the firm advises creditor committees, management, or debtors on optimal transaction structures, conducts marketplace sales processes, and negotiates with potential acquirers.
The typical engagement length varies by transaction type: standard M&A sell-side processes typically require 6-12 months; restructuring engagements vary widely depending on court proceedings and market receptivity; and secondaries transactions often involve 3-6 months of market testing and negotiation.
Engagement economics for Greenhill are negotiable, though the firm typically structures fees using a combination of retainers (for extended advisory relationships) and success fees. As a FINRA-regulated broker-dealer (CRD# 40290), the firm complies with all investment banking regulations and maintains robust compliance infrastructure.
Buyer Network and Capital Markets Access
Greenhill has built strong relationships with over 2,000 active private equity firms and strategic acquirers globally. The firm's PE network includes relationships with major platforms like Audax Group, Genstar Capital, KKR (particularly the industrials-focused practice), and Bain Capital, reflecting its deep market presence in the lower and middle market. Strategic buyer relationships span Fortune 500 industrials, European manufacturers, and Asia-Pacific conglomerates.
Mizuho's acquisition of Greenhill in 2023, combined with the earlier acquisition of Capstone Partners (in 2022), positions the combined platform to provide integrated advisory on M&A, capital raising, private credit, and restructuring—expanding Greenhill's access to capital sources and deepening relationships with financial sponsors.
The firm's secondaries business provides direct access to LP networks and secondary market participants, including dedicated secondaries funds, insurance companies, endowments, and family offices, enabling efficient portfolio transactions and continuation fund formations.
Competitive Differentiation
Greenhill competes in the boutique advisory space against other pure-play advisors like Lazard, Evercore, and Centerview Partners, as well as specialized restructuring firms. Key differentiators include: (1) the depth of the secondaries business (market-leading secondary transactions practice); (2) extensive restructuring and distressed capability (complementing M&A advisory); (3) geographic reach (London and Asia-Pacific offices provide international coverage); (4) founder and partner ownership model (aligns incentives with clients); and (5) Mizuho's backing post-acquisition, providing financial stability and balance sheet access for underwriting and fairness opinions.
Unlike universal banks, Greenhill avoids conflicts between investment banking and other business lines (trading, capital markets, principal investing), allowing the firm to serve buyers and sellers in the same industry without conflicts of interest.
Not a Fit If
Greenhill is less suitable for: (1) companies seeking highly leveraged financing alongside advisory (the firm provides advisory, not lending); (2) transactions requiring significant equity or debt capital commitment from the advisor; (3) public company representations requiring large permanent equity analyst coverage; (4) situations where clients prioritize brand-name prestige over specialized expertise; or (5) mandates requiring non-advisory services like trading, derivatives structuring, or principal capital deployment.
Team and Organizational Structure
Greenhill's leadership includes Chairman Scott L. Bok, who has led the firm through periods of growth and remains a principal shareholder. Co-Heads Kevin Costantino (New York) and David A. Wyles (London) manage day-to-day operations and oversee regional practices. Key Managing Directors include Charles Gournay (former UBS), Carlos Medina (ex-Morgan Stanley and BTG Pactual), Arnaud Granger (Head of Southeast Asia), and Jennifer M. Fritzsche (Communications Services & Digital Infrastructure specialist). The firm employs approximately 1,000 professionals across the Mizuho Americas Banking Division post-acquisition, with the core Greenhill advisory team comprising experienced bankers and managing directors who average 20+ years of M&A experience.
Mizuho's Head of Investment and Corporate Banking, Michal Katz, oversees the broader banking division and provides strategic direction for Greenhill's growth initiatives. This structure maintains Greenhill's independent advisory culture while providing organizational support and capital from Mizuho.
Geographic Coverage and Market Presence
Greenhill operates offices in New York (headquarters), London (European base), San Francisco (tech and consumer focus), Chicago (industrial Midwest), Houston (energy and Texas coverage), and Asia-Pacific cities (Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne) for international client coverage. The firm serves North American, European, and Asia-Pacific client bases with specialized regional teams.
Financial Stability and Capitalization
Post-Mizuho acquisition, Greenhill benefits from Mizuho Financial Group's $2 trillion balance sheet, A credit rating, and capitalization, providing unprecedented financial stability and underwriting capability. As a FINRA-regulated broker-dealer, the firm maintains robust compliance and maintains appropriate regulatory capital levels. This backing enhances client confidence in the firm's ability to manage complex, capital-intensive transactions.
Market Recognition and Awards
Greenhill has received industry recognition for its M&A and restructuring advisory work. Mizuho | Greenhill earned awards including Best Bank for Corporate Banking (Coalition Greenwich Awards, 2025), and the firm's professionals have been recognized for deal leadership and restructuring expertise across multiple industry publications and deal databases.