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Lazard has agreed to buy private capital advisory group Campbell Lutyens in a $575mn deal to bolster its offering in an increasingly important part of Wall Street dealmaking.
The 178-year-old US investment bank’s existing private capital advisory team and London-based Campbell Lutyens will combine to create a division called Lazard CL, the companies said on Thursday.
The deal, first reported by Bloomberg, comes as private markets boom and the firms investing in private equity, credit, infrastructure and property push into increasingly complicated transactions requiring advisory services.
Advisory on fundraising and so-called secondary transactions has become more important to private equity groups in particular as the sector grapples with a prolonged downturn in dealmaking and capital raising.
Campbell Lutyens, founded in 1988, focuses on advising private capital firms and their investors on fundraising and secondary transactions, including those in which fund backers sell stakes to other buyers or the firms themselves sell portfolio companies to new funds that they also manage.
Such transactions have exploded in popularity over the past few years, largely driven by private equity firms’ troubles selling companies at desired valuations on the open market. This has led them and their investors to find other ways to generate cash.
Industry participants said the growth in secondary markets was a natural consequence of the massive expansion of private markets — which expanded from $14tn in 2020 to $24tn in assets under management last year — and the need for new routes to liquidity as more companies stay private for longer.
Campbell Lutyens also advises private capital groups on the structuring of their own firms.
The combined unit is expected to generate about $500mn in 2027 revenue and house more than 280 advisers across 18 offices globally.
The companies said the combined unit represented more than $100bn in secondary transaction volume over the past two years and more than $190bn raised over the same period.
The deal also includes a potential $85mn additional performance-based payment.
“In Lazard we have found a highly complementary partner with a shared ambition for the future,” said Gordon Bajnai, chief executive of Campbell Lutyens.
Holcombe Green, head of private capital advisory at Lazard, said: “I am excited to partner with Gordon and our exceptional senior leadership group and teams to build a global platform that sets the standard for excellence in private capital advisory.”
