Moelis targets Asia expansion with purchase
INVESTMENT bank Moelis is making its first move into Asia with the acquisition of a local boutique adviser.
The firm, founded by high-profile former UBS banker Ken Moelis, has developed aggressively since it began trading just over three years ago and is now making a global push.
The bank has purchased Asia Pacific Advisers, the Hong Kong-based boutique advisory firm established by Richard Orders, the former head of global clients in Asia-Pacific for ABN Amro.
Moelis will take on all eight of APA’s staff, including two senior bankers who have worked in the Asia-Pacific region for the past 20 years.
The investment bank’s expansion could help it to tap the exploding Asia-Pacific market for investment bank revenues. The move comes hot on the heels of the opening of a Moelis office in Dubai last week.
Revenue from fees for investment banks across the region increased by 55.7 per cent to $12.1bn (£7.6bn) last year, representing 17 per cent of the $69.7bn global market, according to data compiled by Dealogic.