What’s eye-popping is they are carrying 200 mergers & acquisition proposals from US medium-sized companies in hand. Deal St is gaining traction, for sure.
MUMBAI: A new pack of investment bankers are hunting in town.
What’s eye-popping is they are carrying 200 mergers & acquisition proposals from US medium-sized companies in hand. Deal St is gaining traction, for sure.
RSM Equico, an investment banking arm of US-based H&R Block, a $7 billion, Fortune 500 financial services company, is seeking local participants to join its “buyers’ pool”.
A buyers pool refers to the collection of potential acquirers.
Hector J Cuellar, president, RSM Equico, is now making pitches to five dozen local industrialists in five days before jetting back to California.
“We want to aggressively enlist Indian businessmen in to the buyers pool for the 200 deals we have in the pipeline,” Hector told DNA Money.
So far, RSM Equico has never had an Indian in its buyers pool till one of its accounting and consulting units operating in India informed that Batlilboi Ltd,l the machine-tool maker and engineering services firm, was on the lookout.
RSM Equico steered Batliboi’s acquisition of Quickmill Inc, a Canadian CNC lathe machine maker, for Rs 22 crore on March 27.
“That was the beginning,” Hector says. Ever since, he has been on a mission to rope in more Indian buyers.
Hector has been increasingly traversing Asia as companies in the continent seek acquisition opportunities in developed markets.
“The healthier the buyers’ pool, better the price,” explains Hector.
Last year, RSM Equico sewed up 56 deals.
The bank was ranked No. 3 in the $1-100 million deals list, below Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, and Jeffries Group, Inc.
RSM Equico is concentrating on smaller deals, which is faster to consummate and integrate.
Will his first visit strike gold?
“I make money on all my deals,” says the bullish Californian.
He hasn’t wrapped up one yet, but confidence stems from the series of meetings conducted.
Among the proposals that he has brought to the local table are from companies in the IT space, pharmaceuticals, steel processing and the engineering sectors.
The deals are in the $5 million to $100 million range.
RSM Equico also helps with funding arrangements, just in case.
After concluding yet another pitch before 30 businessmen on Tuesday, Hector said: “Every deal that come to us will be shown to Indian businessmen.”
After the spate of overseas acquisitions made by Indian businessmen, he cannot afford to miss out on them.
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