Milan, 20 June 2024 - EQUITA, the leading independent Italian investment bank, continues the diversification and expansion of its investment banking division with the consolidation of the alliance with Clairfield, a top-tier global corporate finance advisory partnership, and the addition of John Andrew as a new senior advisor.

EQUITA was among the founding partners of Clairfield International in 2004 through K Finance – the latter acquired by EQUITA in 2020 and rebranded to EQUITA Mid Cap Advisory last May – and over the years, the Clairfield partnership has expanded its presence worldwide, growing the number of partners to more than 400 professionals in all major economies, with offices in more than 30 countries.

Today, Clairfield excels across several distinct practice groups, encompassing six sector-specific areas (”Business & Financial Services”, “Consumer & Retail”, “Energy, Cleantech & Resources”, “Healthcare”, “Industrials”, “Tech, Software & Digital”), debt and capital advisory, and ESG advisory. The solid track-record in sector-based verticals led Clairfield to close more than 800 midmarket deals in the past five years and 196 in 2023, with EQUITA contributing to these figures with 82 and 19 mandates respectively.[1]

As a result of the constant and successful collaboration with other international bankers and the continuous dialogue with Clairfield partners, EQUITA has strengthened its ability to assist large corporates, family businesses and investors in crossborder transactions, especially in the midmarket segment, and consistently ranks in the top ten of financial advisors in Italy (#6 by deal count in M&A advisory in Italy and #1 among independent Italian players in 2023 league tables)[2]. In the last five years, the investment banking team has assisted more than 50 clients with the execution of successful crossborder deals, including Gyrus Capital in the sale of Intellera Consulting to Accenture; Progressio in the sale of Garda Plast Group to Valgroup; BIP – Business Integration Partners in the acquisition of the UK group Chaucer; the shareholders of Salice in the sale of a majority stake of the group to the Belgian investment company Cobepa; and Tollegno 1900 in the sale of its yarn division to the Thai player Indorama Ventures, among the world’s leading petrochemical producers.

Considering the broader international M&A midmarket landscape, Clairfield was highly ranked in the 2023 league tables for Europe (#18) and Latin America (#14), achieved top ten rankings in Australia (#8), Japan (#8), and Eastern Europe (#7), and ranked in the top twenty worldwide.[3]

Recently, new partners have joined Clairfield from different continents, including Yamada Consulting – a top Japanese advisory firm – to cover Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and to boost the Clairfield’s China desk; Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) – a division of FirstRand Bank, the largest financial services group by market capitalisation in Africa – to position as the gateway for Clairfield clients into South Africa, Nigeria, and the broader sub-Saharan African market; and First Capital Group – Argentina’s largest corporate financial advisory firm – who joins Clairfield’s Latin America partners in Brazil and Mexico.

The continuous expansion of Clairfield – celebrating its 20th anniversary this year – will help EQUITA to further accelerate its growth strategy in M&A advisory, building long-term value for shareholders.

Andrea Vismara, Chief Executive Officer at EQUITA, commented: “The recent rebranding of EQUITA K Finance to EQUITA Mid Cap Advisory, its integration into the EQUITA Group and the consolidation of our partnership with Clairfield is strong evidence of our commitment to expand the investment banking division and best serve large corporates, family businesses, financial institutions and financial sponsors, not only in Italy but also abroad with crossborder transactions. We are proud of the continuous expansion of Clairfield in terms of number of professionals, rankings and geographic footprint. The recent integration of new partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America, in addition to the partner firms spread across Europe, are an invaluable asset for our clients who are looking for strategic opportunities abroad or for international players who are considering investing in Italy.”

Alexander Klemm, Executive Chair at Clairfield, commented: “We are thrilled to move ever closer to our partners in Italy and broaden our partnership. EQUITA’s extensive capabilities in capital markets and advisory, particularly with Italian listed companies, financial institutions and midmarket companies, and know-how in innovative industries such as energy transition, has consistently driven exceptional performance. Italian clients can be serviced by EQUITA and Clairfield in Europe and globally. EQUITA-Clairfield can unlock ‘Made in Italy’ opportunities for international investors.”

In addition to the strengthening of the partnership with Clairfield, EQUITA also announces that John Andrew will join the investment banking team as senior advisor, contributing to EQUITA’s ongoing growth and bringing the EQUITA platform to a wider and international audience, with a particular focus on M&A advisory for private equity funds. He has over three decades of experience in investment banking at an international scale, gained in senior positions at Schroders, Citi, Eidos Partners and, most recently, at William Blair.

Vismara added: “John Andrew is an experienced profile with an outstanding career in investment banking and M&A advisory. As a senior advisor, he will bring his significant expertise in crossborder transactions and will help EQUITA to strengthen further its growing investment banking division.”