Investment Bank Alantra Hires China Dealmakers Amid Growing M&A

(Bloomberg) -- Alantra Partners SA, a Spanish investment bank, has hired three bankers in Shanghai as Chinese companies increasingly turn to Europe for overseas mergers and acquisitions.

Alantra has hired Richard Zhu to head the firm’s China M&A business as managing partner, according to a spokesman for the bank. Zhu, who has more than 15 years’ experience in finance and management consulting, was previously a managing director at advisory firm Lincoln International.

“I believe mid-market and sell-side M&A advisory is at its turning point in China,” Zhu said in a statement Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.

The Spanish firm hired Linda Wang as a director and John Zhou as vice president, with both joining from Lincoln, the spokesman said. Alantra is also moving Inigo Mateache, a director at the bank in Madrid, to Shanghai to become head of cross-border M&A for China.

Alantra focuses on mid-market investment banking and asset management. It has offices in Europe, the U.S., Asia and Latin America.

Chinese companies were involved in $319 billion of acquisitions in the first half of the year, an 11 percent increase from the same period in 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They’re increasingly looking to Europe for deals amid growing trade tensions and regulatory risks in the U.S.

Anta Sports Products Ltd., China’s largest maker of athletic apparel, confirmed Wednesday it had made an indicative 4.7 billion-euro ($5.5 billion) bid for Finnish rival Amer Sports Oyj. China Three Gorges Corp. offered 9.1 billion euros in May to buy the shares that it doesn’t already own of electricity giant EDP-Energias de Portugal SA.

To contact the reporter on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Fion Li

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