Talion investment bank Mediobanca has agreed to buy boutique advisory firm Arma Partners, based in The Shard, as it hopes to get closer to London’s top tech companies.
Arma, which employs 86 people, has advised on several major technology deals, including the acquisition of CloudReach by Atos and the purchase of Suse by EQT. In total, it has advised on deals worth more than $85 billion and last year had more than $100 million in revenue.
Mediobanca is one of Italy’s largest investment banks, with a profit of €907 million last year. CEO Alberto Nagel said he wanted to deepen ties with top tech firms, and that buying Arma was the best way to do that.
“Mediobanka has significant experience partnering with independent financial advisory firms with strong fundamentals, strong management leadership, well-known brands and scalable platforms,” he added. “We believe that Arma Partners’ unique expertise, complementary business and geographic footprint is a perfect fit for our common growth strategy and will benefit entrepreneurs, investors, business professionals, CEOs and founders from Mediobanca Group’s position as a primary advisory house Digital Economy Revolution”
Arma was founded in 2003 by Paul-Noël Guély, who will remain in charge following the acquisition.
“Like us, Mediobanca has a distinguished track record of strategic and independent advice, as well as European roots with global ambitions,” he said. “Our new strategic partners also greatly respect our independence and continued focus on the digital economy.”
Last month, Deutsche Bank struck a similar deal, buying city-based boutique investment bank Numis in a bid to bolster its ties with Britain’s biggest companies.
