Lincoln International Opens Office in Mumbai; T. N. Giridhar to Lead Office
Lincoln International, a leading global mid-market investment bank, has announced the opening of its Mumbai office, marking another important step in its global expansion. T. N. Giridhar, formerly head of M&A for ICICI Securities, has been appointed Managing Director and will lead the new office (“Lincoln-India”).
With more than 200 investment bankers globally, Lincoln International has established a strong presence in the key global economies. The firm has 12 offices in the Americas, Asia and Europe including the following: Amsterdam, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Vienna and now Mumbai. In 2010 Lincoln International was the #1 ranked (by number of deals) mid-market, independent, integrated M&A advisor in the world.
With nearly 20% of the world’s population, India represents an important global economic region. By 2025 it will surpass China as the most populous country in the world. In the next 15 years India is expected to increase its GDP by over 4 times with an average annual GDP growth of 8% to 10%. Also by that time, India is expected to have a GDP approaching that of China and the U.S.
India has strong connections to the key markets where Lincoln International is already present. India has also been seeing an increasing trend of both inbound transactions by foreign strategic partners, and at the same time has witnessed a strong transaction volume in outbound M&A. The firm’s local presence in India will help to expand and strengthen its relationships with current and prospective clients in this important market. Lincoln International will offer a unique advisory service to its Indian clients by leveraging its very active mid-market M&A practices in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Lincoln International will be providing a level of service to companies, investors and government entities in the region which has only been available to date for larger companies or on larger transactions.
The Mumbai office will be led by T. N. Giridhar, who recently joined the firm as Managing Director and Head of India. Prior to joining Lincoln International, Giridhar was a Senior Vice President with ICICI Securities (“ISEC”) in Mumbai. During his time at ISEC, Giridhar was the Head of Advisory Business, which included Private Equity Syndication and M&A, and Head of the Financial Institutions Group. Prior to ISEC, Giridhar was a Director at Arkios Ltd., an investment banking boutique headquartered in London. At Arkios, Giridhar focused primarily on cross border deals between India and Europe. Prior to Arkios, Giridhar worked at Communications Equity Associates in London. Giridhar began his career in equity research, first at Indsec Investments (the Indian advisor to Foreign & Colonial) and then Goldman Sachs/Kotak Securities. Giridhar has a Bachelor of Engineering from Andhra University and an MBA from Sri Sathya Sai University. Giridhar is fluent in English, Hindi, and Telugu and is comfortable with Tamil and Kannada.
Joining Giridhar in Lincoln International’s Mumbai office as a Director is Gaurav Marathe. Gaurav previously worked at India Advisory Partners and Almondz Global Securities Ltd. Gaurav began his career with a major Indian accounting firm in the business advisory group. Gaurav is a Chartered Accountant from India.
Manish Rele is joining as a Vice President. Manish began working at Lincoln International in 2006 in its Chicago office. Since joining Lincoln in the U.S., he has worked on a variety of assignments including sell side M&A, buy side M&A, capital raising and valuations. Prior to Lincoln International, Manish worked with Citigroup for five years, both in the U.S. and India. Prior to working at Citigroup, Manish worked at Dresdner Kleinwort in Mumbai as an analyst in Investment Banking. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and is a Chartered Accountant from India. Manish has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Mumbai, Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics.
“We are very excited about our India team. We are confident they can build a leading mid-market M&A practice for Lincoln International in India. The best way to assure success in India is to appoint a leader that has already led a successful M&A business in that market, add a second senior banker that has also built an M&A business and transfer one of our best Vice Presidents to assure integration,” said Jim Lawson, Chairman of Lincoln International.
Robert Brown, a board member of Lincoln-India, a member of the management committee of Lincoln International in the U.S. and a veteran of Lincoln International for more than 13 years said, “We have been looking to build a Mumbai office for a number of years. Now is the right time and Giridhar, Gaurav and Manish are the right team.”
Giridhar commented, “Lincoln International’s fully-integrated global platform is unique to the mid-market and exactly what Indian firms need as they increase focus on cross-border M&A business development. Lincoln not only has impressive global reach, but deep expertise within specific industry sectors that is unmatched by any other mid-market M&A advisor.”
About Lincoln International
Lincoln International specializes in merger and acquisition advisory services, debt advisory services, private capital raising and restructuring advice on mid-market transactions. Lincoln International also provides fairness opinions, valuations and pension advisory services on a wide range of transaction sizes. With twelve offices: three in the Americas, two in Asia, and seven in Europe, and strategic partnerships with leading institutions in China and Korea, Lincoln International has strong local knowledge and contacts in the key global economies. The firm provides clients with senior-level attention, in-depth industry expertise and integrated resources. By being focused and independent, Lincoln International serves its clients without conflicts of interest.
