Abigail with attitude: New boutiques in fight for survival
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Opinion

Abigail with attitude: New boutiques in fight for survival

In the post-credit-crunch world it is clear that there is a role for a trusted adviser, away from the big firms with all their inherent conflicts of interest. However, there are now a lot of smaller corporate finance firms, so it might be hard to find a niche in this new competitive landscape.

And I also wonder about the timing. When the three musketeers – Michael Baldock, Benoit d’Angelin and Michael Tory – formed Ondra Partners in late 2008, there was a movement of the tectonic plates and a gap opened up in the market. Clients were searching for a new way and a wave of revulsion engulfed the powerful investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Such firms were seen as spiralling out of control and were spurned for their greed and supposedly self-serving ways. That moment has passed. Big banks will continue to play an important role in the M&A landscape. Consequently, newcomers rushing to make their mark on the boutique landscape might find that they are too late to build a sustainable brand and business.

By the way, Ondra was named Euromoney’s best independent investment bank of 2012.

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