Private equity jobs aren’t what they used to be, since – in the words of Bain Capital – the industry has been going through its “most challenging period since the global financial crisis.” However, private equity can still be an opportunity for ambitious junior bankers to do dramatic things, even in the middle market.
Matt Fargie is one such person. Aged in his “early 30s”, Fargie is a principal at CapVest Partners in London, a midmarket private equity firm with around €5.5bn in assets under management and an office near Buckingham Palace. Fargie is in the process of completing a €10bn ($11.7bn) deal (including debt) to buy the German drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel ag, a deal which Bloomberg notes will propel both he and his employer into the big time.
As he rides this momentum, Fargie – who is working with a female partner (Kate Briant) – is saying noble things like, “We have admired Stada for several years. We look forward to working with Peter Goldschmidt [Stada’s CEO] and his team as custodians of this great company in its next phase of development.”
It wasn’t so long ago, though, that Fargie was swimming in a smaller pond. Before he joined CapVest in 2018 he spent three years as an analyst and associate at boutique bank Centerview. Before Centerview, he was a student at Warwick University, the provincial UK institution with a reputation for economics. And at Warwick, he was the head of not one but two finance societies. It’s an indication of the ideal early career: university to top finance society to top boutique to small fund where you differentiate yourself and do the deal of the decade long before middle age. Fargie probably has a fine future ahead.
Separately, Mizuho is an Asian bank and Asia is where it does best. Bloomberg notes that Mizuho ranks third in the Asia Pacific region for free income from equity and debt capital markets and M&A activities. Mizuho thinks this isn’t good enough: it wants to be first on its home continent.
The bank has big plans to join up its US, European and Asian investment bankers to boost its revenues. The US is already doing well – Mizuho only ranks 14th, but that’s ahead of Japanese rivals. Europe needs strengthening. So does Asia.
As it pursues first place, Mizuho intends to strengthen its M&A and ECM businesses in Asia and in Europe. It plans to hire, although it won’t say how many people. It also plans to “groom” bankers who can do both investment and corporate banking. Such things are not always popular. Hybrid bankers know where to apply.
Meanwhile…
Jane Street is hiring engineers in Singapore and it needs a new office to sit them all in. (Bloomberg)
India is implementing new rules to curtail the sorts of trading activities it says Jane Street has been engaging in. The new framework would facilitate market making activity on all trading days while “putting a check on any outsized intraday position on expiry day.” (Bloomberg)
Revolut will allow staff to sell up to 20% of their shares at a $75bn valuation to make way for other investors. (Financial Times)
Revolut’s secondary share sale will allow existing investors to sell their shares to others without having to issue any new stock. Stripe has done something similar. (Bloomberg)
Houlihan Lokey hired Sandro Galfetti from UBS as a managing director within its capital solutions group in Europe as it builds out its coverage of private equity firms. (Financial News)
Dymon Capital moved Cyril Brudy to Dubai, where he will become senior executive officer. (Financial News)
Dymon Capital has gained 12% so far this year. (Financial News)
Forget one to one meetings with your manager, now it’s all about “coaching hours” in which harried senior managers block out their diaries to offer career advice, help on business problems you’re looking to solve or something else. (WSJ)
Morgan Stanley’s interns want to drive a Mercedes. Their desire to drive a Tesla has fallen from 30% in 2021 to 5% in 2025. (Business Insider)
