N+1 enters the US market through its merger with C.W. Downer & Co

N+1 reported yesterday its merger with C.W. Downer & Co, by which the European investment banking group enters the US market. Headquartered in Boston, C.W. Downer is a financial advisory mid-market specialist with offices in Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin, Mumbai and Shanghai. Founded 40 years ago, it is one of the longest established and most successful mid-market M&A firms in the US.
During the last four years, C.W. Downer has closed 73 transactions, of which 62% have been cross-border and 77% have had a US involvement. The most noteworthy recently advised transactions include (client in italic) the sale of Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese GmbH & Co. KG to Dr. August Oetker, Broker’s Gin Limited, a fast growing premium London dry gin, to US based McCormick Distilling, and sale of RTS Holdings, a leading provider of turbine maintenance repair and overhaul services, to a US subsidiary of Fuji Electric of Japan.

C.W. Downer will bring to N+1 additional sector specialization, through its strong expertise in industrials, material handling, consumer, food & specialty ingredients and aerospace & defence. In these sectors, C.W. Downer has closed 64 transactions in the last four years.

“This transaction is a key milestone in our strategic goal of building a truly global midcap investment banking platform”, said Santiago Eguidazu, Executive Chairman of N+1. “We are very happy for the incorporation of such a well-reputed team as C.W. Downer to our Group, being able to cover from now on the largest markets in Europe and the US, as well as to give our clients access to a growing set of Chinese and Indian buyers”, he added.

“We are delighted to partner with a Group that up to date has proven successful in creating a pan-European mid-market platform and with which we feel very comfortable in terms of cultural fit”, said Paul A. Colone, Managing Director of C.W. Downer. “Now the Boston partners have an exciting challenge ahead of us, which is implementing an ambitious expansion plan throughout the US”. Building on C.W. Downer’s reputation and success in its local market, N+1 will be looking to grow in the country by opening new offices and incorporating specialized product and sector teams. The US is the largest M&A market with a 52% share of the global M&A market and is also Europe’s largest counterpart for cross border deals.

In Europe, N+1 is reinforcing its positioning as one of the leading players in the midcap industry, supported by strong local teams in each of the largest M&A markets. With this transaction, N+1 is growing the size of its teams in Germany and France to thirty and twenty professionals respectively. Additionally, N+1 will seek to build upon C.W. Downer’s strong track-record and strategic focus in the Nordics, with the ambition to establish a local team in this attractive market.

The transaction contemplates the full integration of C.W. Downer in N+1 through the payment of id="mce_marker"8.6mn over a 4-year period and, subject to N+1’s shareholders’ approval, the delivery of 1,262,652 shares of N+1 to the partners of C.W. Downer. The shares are subject to a 4-year lock-up period. The transaction is subject to FINRA’s approval. Paul A. Colone, Frank Merkel, R. Wade Aust, Michael R. Howell, Joseph J. Downing Jr., Arthur Gottlieb and Ashley E. Rountree, the partners of C.W. Downer, are enthusiastic about the opportunities that the merger offers for the firm’s clients and employees. The executive partners of C.W. Downer will become partners of N+1 and in addition, Paul, Frank and Wade will be members of the management committee of N+1’s investment banking division once the transaction is completed.

Please click here to see the press release and the presentation of the transaction