Goldman bolsters private equity banking team
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Goldman Sachs has hired two senior bankers from JPMorgan to bolster its private equity banking team amid an expected resurgence in dealmaking.
Why it matters: The return of private equity could kickstart the recovering U.S. M&A market.
Zoom in: A source familiar with the matter says JPMorgan's Haidee Lee and Carsten Woehrn will join the bank's financial sponsors group — the banking team that works with private equity firms on acquisitions, sales of portfolio companies, financing, and a range of other issues tied to their investments.
- The hiring marks a return for Lee, who left Goldman in 2021 to join JPMorgan's strategic investor group as its co-head. Woerhn was JPMorgan's co-head of EMEA M&A.
Zoom out: The Wall Street bank published a white paper this month laying out how the private equity dealmaking market is poised for a comeback.
- Goldman cites $1.2 trillion of money waiting to be deployed by private equity investors, so-called dry powder that the bank sees going to companies in both the U.S. and abroad.
- Global M&A volume in Q1 jumped 30% to $690 billion, according to LSEG, with U.S. volumes spiking 57%. Private equity backed M&A grew 8% to $144.1 billion.
Yes, but: The M&A market is coming off a slow few years that saw private equity deals fall markedly as interest rate spikes killed the market for financing acquisitions.
Between the lines: Adding to the optimism around private equity activity is also a comeback in the IPO markets, an option sponsors hardly had access to over the last two years.
- "We're already seeing issuers across more sectors looking to go public," said Elizabeth Reed, Goldman's global head of equity syndication, in the white paper.
Michael Flaherty is an editor for Axios Pro Deals. If you need smart, quick intel on dealmaking for your job, get Axios Pro.
