New York-based global independent investment bank Moelis & Co has filed to go public in the US to raise around $100 million and has appointed Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to manage the IPO process. After a road-show in March, the company is expected to go public in April.
The advisory firm will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘MC’, the company said in the term-sheet. However, it has not disclosed where it would use the proceeds it is going to raise from the listing.
Moelis & Co was founded in 2007 by investment banker Ken Moelis, the former president of the UBS Investment Bank.
Media reports suggest that Moelis and other employees own a stake of nearly 85 per cent, while 10 per cent is held by institutional investors. Ken Moelis will continue holding the majority stake in the company after it goes public, holding most of the company's class B shares, which will not be offered in the IPO.
Globally, the privately-held firm is ranked 11 in the league table with a market share of 5.4 per cent.
Last year, Moelis advised on major deals like the $30 billion Publicis and Omnicom merger; $23 billion buyout of ketchup maker Heinz by Berkshire Hathaway and $11 billion bid by SABMiller for Australian drinks group Foster's.
In the Indian market, Moelis & Co forayed in 2012 with Manisha Girotra, former India head of UBS, manning India operations. Prior to joining Moelis, Girotra spent around 17 years with the Swiss bank UBS.
In 2013, Moelis & Co closed deals worth $2.12 billion in India, grabbing 6.4 per cent share of the total market.
Last year, the advisory firm joined hands with Jefferies to advise Bangalore-based Strides Arcolab sell its injectables business to Mylan for $1.75 billion and also acted as a financial advisor to Financial Technologies, helping the company exit its subsidiary Singapore Mercantile Exchange for $150 million.
Moelis & Co offers independent financial advisory services in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, recapitalisations and restructurings, capital markets and risk advisory, and asset management services.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)