M&A and Strategic Advisory

Lazard is one of the world's leading advisors on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and related strategic matters.

Our M&A and Strategic Advisory practice partners with public and private corporate clients to deliver world-class independent advice on all financial, strategic and tactical elements of evaluating and executing M&A transactions, as well as formulating comprehensive strategies to grow their businesses.

Lazard’s capabilities encompass all types of M&A transactions: mergers; buy-side acquisitions; sell-side divestitures and company sale processes; joint ventures; partnerships and more.

In addition to executing transactions, we frequently collaborate with clients to advise on their strategic and financial challenges. We help clients identify, devise and pursue strategies to serve stakeholders, accomplish their goals, and maximize shareholder value.

Lazard is known globally for leadership and innovation in the M&A industry. As close and trusted strategic advisors, our senior bankers distinguish themselves through deep and specialized knowledge of their clients’ industries and detailed sector transaction expertise.

The broad range of industries our bankers advise on include:

Consumer and Retail
Financial Institutions
Financial Sponsors
Healthcare
Industrials
Media, Entertainment & Sports
Power, Energy and Infrastructure
Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging
Technology
Telecom & Digital Infrastructure

Lazard thrives in the most complex business contexts, with specialized capabilities that sets our M&A and Strategic Advisory practice apart. Lazard’s long history, global nature, reputation for discretion and lack of institutional conflicts of interest make us uniquely qualified to advise on and execute transactions which require particular sensitivity, expertise and judgment.

With 175 years of history and a presence in 26 countries, Lazard is the most multinational and deeply connected of independent M&A and strategic advisory firms.

As such, we are uniquely positioned to advise companies on cross-border transactions involving counterparties across national boundaries.

Collaborative professionals across our global offices possess valuable experience and expertise needed to navigate local capital markets, governments and regulatory environments, tax issues and cultural considerations. This expertise helps make Lazard one of the world's leading advisors on cross-border M&A.

We help clients optimize the value of their corporate asset portfolios with innovative structural alternatives to unlock shareholder value and maximize future business performance.

By evaluating transformational transactions like separations and de-mergers, we guide companies through periods critical to their corporate identities with the highest-quality financial and strategic advice.

Lazard also advises on all aspects of the execution of these complicated transactions, helping to set newly independent companies up for success.

Lazard helps its corporate clients defend themselves from unsolicited approaches from both strategic acquirers and activist shareholders.

Lazard’s takeover defense practice draws on all of Lazard's vast resources and deep expertise to devise preventative and responsive measures to unsolicited activity, allowing clients to maintain control of their own destinies and maximize shareholder value on their own terms.

Lazard has an unmatched history of representing Independent Directors and Special Committees of Boards of Directors in critical M&A and strategic advisory contexts in which objectivity and discretion are of the utmost importance.

In these situations, Lazard provides corporate decision-makers with advice and insights into shareholder concerns unencumbered by conflicts of interest, and always backed by strong analysis and a proven track record.