Pigasse Is Gone, But Carry On: Lazard CEO Consoles Bankers
Pigasse Is Gone, But Carry On: Lazard CEO Consoles Paris Bankers
(Bloomberg) -- Lazard Ltd. has been no stranger lately to shakeups at the top. Now the firm’s chief executive officer wants his employees across the Atlantic to know that they’ll be just fine without their top rainmaker.
CEO Ken Jacobs flew to Paris with his deputy Peter Orszag and assuaged staff after their top banker in France, Matthieu Pigasse, announced his departure Sunday, people with knowledge of the matter said. While word of his possible exit swirled for weeks, there is no leadership team to take Pigasse’s place yet in the nation where Lazard opened one of its earliest offices in the 1800s.
The message from the top executives? Life goes on and it’s business as usual, according to people who attended the meeting and asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. They’re creating a plan to reassure clients as well.
Pigasse’s departure comes at a difficult time for Lazard, which is languishing in its lowest spot on the M&A league tables in more than a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It ranks 12th this year, behind rival boutiques like Evercore Inc., PJT Partners Inc. and Centerview Partners. That’s down from 9th place in 2018 and 6th place in 2017, the data show.
Europe is a priority for New York-based Lazard, where Pigasse helped run a sprawling business that accounts for a significant chunk of the firm’s revenue -- more so than many of its biggest rivals. Almost 30% of financial-advisory fees in the first half of 2019 were earned in Europe, and in some years the figure was as high as 50%.
Jacobs has maintained a steady outlook for Europe even as investment banks contend with Brexit discussions and other political tensions weighing on large-scale mergers. A representative for Lazard declined to comment.
Pigasse has worked with troubled nations including Greece to restructure debt and has shepherded some of the largest deals in the region, involving the likes of L’Oreal SA and Danone. He was named just five months ago to be deputy CEO of financial advisory, soon after Orszag was named CEO of that business worldwide. The French banker previously ran M&A globally.
There’s a concern that Pigasse will join a competitor, though he said on Sunday in a statement that he plans a “next chapter beyond investment banking in a new entrepreneurial project.” Lazard faces competition from boutiques like Centerview, Evercore and Perella Weinberg Partners, which are eyeing France for European expansion.
Lazard has seen some recent departures to rivals in the last two months with partner Amelie Negrier-Oyarzabal joining Greenhill & Co. and Gary Howe leaving for Bank of America Corp. Nicolas Constant has also departed for a competing boutique, according to people familiar with the matter.
Like Pigasse, other longtime Lazard leaders have left for different sectors in recent years. Top investment banker Antonio Weiss departed in 2015 to become a counselor to the U.S. Treasury secretary, while Vice Chairman Gary Parr joined private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. a year later.
William Rucker, who had been CEO of Lazard’s investment bank in the U.K. for about 15 years, stepped aside just weeks ago to become chairman of the business. Cyrus Kapadia, a technology, media and telecommunications dealmaker, was elevated to lead that region.
Pigasse has a range of interests. He was once a cabinet adviser to Dominique Strauss-Kahn and has been deputy chief of staff for former socialist Finance Minister Laurent Fabius. He has been a co-owner of French newspaper Le Monde and has a stake in Mediawan SA, investments he made alongside Iliad SA billionaire Xavier Niel.
Lazard’s shares have been almost flat this year, valuing the company at $4.8 billion. Evercore has advanced 11% in that period.
--With assistance from Daniele Lepido, Jeremy Diamond, Dinesh Nair and Sonali Basak.
To contact the reporters on this story: Angelina Rascouet in Paris at arascouet1@bloomberg.net;Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at fdebeaupuy@bloomberg.net;Myriam Balezou in London at mbalezou@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, ;Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, ;Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Aaron Kirchfeld
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