BofA bolsters M&A team after poaching Nomura rainmaker
ADRIAN MEE, head of European mergers and acquisitions at Nomura and one of the bank’s key rainmakers, has quit the Japanese investment bank to join Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoA).
The move will come as a blow to Nomura which has suffered a series of high-profile defections just two years after acquiring the European and Asian investment banking of Lehman Brothers.
Mee, global head of M&A at Nomura, will become head of international M&A at BoA. He joins his former colleague Christian Meissner, who ran the investment banking business at Nomura before resigning earlier this year to join BoA.
The pair, along with William Vereker, co-head of global investment banking at Nomura, were the three main negotiaters in the acquisition of Lehman’s businesses.
The duo recently advised International Power on its deal with France’s GDF Suez to create the world’s largest utility with annual revenue of €84bn (£69.3bn).
Nomura still ranks 18th in the league tables for European M&A, compared with BoA which has held a top five position under the leadership of Carlo Calabria.