UPDATE 1-Deutsche Bank revamps M&A with new global roles
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FRANKFURT, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) restructured its mergers advisory business on Wednesday, appointing dealmaking veterans Tony Burgess and James Stynes to newly created global co-head roles.
The German bank, which has lagged rivals on merger advice but gained some ground in recent years, said the changes correlate with what companies seeking advice want.
"Clients today are looking across borders to make key strategic M&A decisions and need a global view and expertise to enable them to make informed decisions," Deutsche Bank's head of global banking Michael Cohrs said.
Burgess also noted that dealflow involving China and India is on the rise, which requires greater global coordination.
"We're seeing much more investment into Europe and the United States from Asia, and vice-versa, and this is likely to be a trend we'll see accelerate over the next five years," he said in an interview.
The bank is building a dedicated Asia-Pacific M&A group and is developing a plan to advise private equity firms in the region.
Deutsche Bank ranked ninth globally on the list of top M&A advisers last year -- sixth in Europe and just missing the top 10 in the United States, according to market research firm Thomson Financial.
LONG WAY
Burgess said, however, that Deutsche Bank has come a long way over the last few years.
"We have taken our M&A fee share in Europe from 4 percent in 2004 to 7 percent in 2006," he said.
Burgess had been head of European M&A since October 2004 and Stynes his counterpart in the Americas since September 2004.
Their new roles are effective immediately and both men will report to Cohrs.
Also as part of the shake-up, Henrik Aslaksen, head of M&A for continental Europe, and Stephan Leithner, head of German investment banking, are becoming the bank's co-heads of M&A in Europe. Jean Manas will be head of M&A in the Americas.
Deutsche Bank also appointed Anthony Parsons as head of UK M&A, poached Nigel Robinson from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) to be head of natural resources mergers in Europe and named Mark Epley as global head of financial sponsors coverage.
Management of the bank's industry group coverage was also revamped with Jacques Brand, Jim DeNaut and Brett Olsher taking global responsibility.
Burgess said the restructuring would free him to work on more global deals.
"I had 17 direct reports in Europe who will now report to Stephan and Henrik," he said. "That will enable me to spend a lot more time focusing on clients internationally and on originating and leading cross-border M&A transactions."
Burgess had previously been head of corporate finance at EL&C Baillieu Ltd., while Stynes joined from Morgan Stanley (MS.N). They have a combined 50 years of advisory experience.
