Mediobanca acquires control of Messier Maris & Associés (MMA). Founded at the end of 2010 by Jean-Marie Messier (former CEO of Vivendi) and Erik Maris, Mma is the third - after Rothschild and Lazard - among the main French Corporate Finance boutiques. Messier Maris & Associés specializes in M&A advisory services to large and medium-sized companies and in business with financial sponsors. Mediobanca has acquired 66% of the company and will pay for it entirely with treasury shares, as part of its ongoing buyback plan. Under the agreement reached, the two founding partners, Messier and Maris, will remain at the helm of the company.
The new partnership allows Mediobanca and its Corporate investment banking division to increase its EPS by 2% (based on the Group's annual net result of €864m as of June 2018). According to some estimates, the value of the transaction should be around 100 million euros based on a valuation of the French company around 160 million.
“The acquisition of Mma is a formidable addition for the group that strengthens the virtuous circle of our business model. We are all very happy to welcome to our Group Jean Marie Messier and Erik Maris who have a unique franchise and a great capacity to assist their clients in the most complex and sophisticated transactions". This was stated by the CEO of Mediobanca, Alberto Nagel, in the note announcing the transaction.
