Business Development Asia
Encyclopedia
Business Development Asia LLC, or BDA, is an investment banking
firm that advises on crossborder M&A (mergers and acquisitions), distressed situations, private placements, capital raising, valuations and financial restructurings.
The company provides advisory services on crossborder transactions involving Asia, including the Middle East, typically with transaction values between US$20m and US$500m.
BDA was founded by Euan Rellie and Charles Maynard in 1996, and is headquartered in New York City
at 1270 Avenue of the Americas, New York
, NY, USA. The third partner running the firm is Andrew Huntley in London. BDA has offices in Bahrain
, Hong Kong
, London
, Mumbai
, New York City
, Seoul
, Shanghai
, and Tokyo
. BDA's top fee producers and office heads include Jeffrey Wang and Mark Webster
in Shanghai, Paul DiGiacomo in Hong Kong, Jeff Acton in Tokyo, and Heejun Yang in Seoul.
October 2011, William Blair & Co. acquired a 10% stake in Business Development Asia LLC in anticipation of executing more cross-border deals. Chicago-based William Blair said the new tie will build its investment banking business in Asian markets, by giving it a presence in Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Bahrain, and beefing up its existing teams in Shanghai, London and New York.
December 2010, BDA was named Investment Banking Firm of the Year by The M&A Advisor. BDA was recognised as a result of its work on transactions during the year for clients such as Areva
, Axa Private Equity
, Cookson
, Henkel
, Life Technologies
, Pfizer
, Rexel
and The Weir Group.
BDA has advised Fortune 500
companies and other large companies to acquire and to divest businesses in Asia, including Air Products, Areva
, Arkema
, Clariant
, Cookson
, DIC
, Dow
, DuPont
, Ecolab
, Henkel
, Hercules
, ITW, Johnson Controls
, Kimberly-Clark
, Lear
, Molex
, Nalco
, Pfizer
, Rohm and Haas
, Ryder
, Tenneco
, Visteon
, Weir
, and WR Grace.
May 2010, BDA advised Pfizer
on selling its swine vaccine business in China to Harbin Pharmaceutical, backed by Citic
and Warburg Pincus
, notable as the first antitrust divestiture in China mandated by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom). BDA has emerged as one of the leading mid market houses advising on Asian sellside M&A, successfully selling businesses for Arkema
, AXA Private Equity
, Clariant
, Henkel
, Rexel
, and WestLB
.
BDA was the Asian partner 1997-2009 in the Close Brothers Group
, until Daiwa SMBC acquired Close Brothers Corporate Finance in 2009. BDA has co-operated internationally with Houlihan Lokey
, Harris Williams, Jefferies
, Lincoln International
, Morgan Stanley
, Greene Holcomb & Fisher, Daewoo Securities
, WestLB
, and other investment banks.
BDA advised on 14 successful transactions in the 2010, 9 transactions in 2009, and 11 transactions in 2008. BDA has particular expertise in the chemicals, automotive, pharma and advanced manufacturing industries. Most of its business involves China, India, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East.
BDA won “Cross Border M&A Deal of the Year” award in its category, awarded by Global M&A Network in November 2010. BDA acted as exclusive buy-side advisor to Molex
, a global electronic components company headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, on the acquisition of Zhenjiang Tean Telecom & Appliances, a Chinese manufacturer of radio frequency and microwave products.
Euan Rellie, BDA co-founder and Senior Managing Director, received the “Boutique M&A Investment Banker of the Year” award in November 2010, honoring him for completing transactions including the sale of Pfizer Inc’s animal vaccine business in China to Harbin Pharmaceutical, and Molex
’s acquisition of Zhenjiang Tean. "I am proud that Global M&A has recognized BDA for our advisory work on these ground-breaking transactions in Asia" said Rellie. "It reinforces what our clients are telling us: that BDA is the best-positioned crossborder investment banking firm in the region."
BDA won the “Asia Pacific M&A Deal of the Year” award in its category at the Asia Pacific M&A Atlas Awards Gala, as the exclusive sell-side advisor to Pfizer
, on the May 2010 divestment of its market leading animal vaccine business in China. The buyer was Harbin Bio-Vaccine, an animal health subsidiary of Harbin Pharmaceutical (“Hayao”), a leading pharma company in China. Hayao is owned partly by CITIC
and Warburg Pincus
. The divestment was required by the Anti-Trust Bureau of China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) as a condition for its approval of the US$68bn Pfizer/Wyeth merger, closed in October 2009. This was the first time that a business in China has been sold as a consequence of Chinese competition authorities’ review of a global merger following the new Anti-Monopoly Law of August 2008.
BDA won the 2009 "Deal of the Year - Islamic Finance" award for Europe from The Banker / Financial Times group. BDA acted as buy-side advisor to Seera Investment Bank (formerly United International Bank, UIB), a Shari'a compliant investment bank in Bahrain, on the leveraged acquisition of BWA Water Additives, a leading water treatment solution provider, in the UK. The buyout was financed in part by a multi-tranche
debt facility, structured in accordance with Islamic Shari'a principles, and obtained exclusively from UK-based institutions, as the credit crisis approached its peak in September 2008.
BDA claims to be the leading independent player in crossborder M&A in Asia and the Middle East.
BDA publishes free Quarterly newsletters covering Asian industry and M&A news covering several sectors: Automotive, Chemicals, Health, Transport and Logistics, and Technology.
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
firm that advises on crossborder M&A (mergers and acquisitions), distressed situations, private placements, capital raising, valuations and financial restructurings.
The company provides advisory services on crossborder transactions involving Asia, including the Middle East, typically with transaction values between US$20m and US$500m.
BDA was founded by Euan Rellie and Charles Maynard in 1996, and is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at 1270 Avenue of the Americas, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, NY, USA. The third partner running the firm is Andrew Huntley in London. BDA has offices in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. BDA's top fee producers and office heads include Jeffrey Wang and Mark Webster
Mark Webster
Mark Webster is a British journalist and broadcaster who has presented many of five's late night sports shows.-TV presenting:He hosted the "Off the Wall" show on the music channel, Music Box, before being given a job by ITV co-hosting arts and entertainment guide 01- For London in 1988...
in Shanghai, Paul DiGiacomo in Hong Kong, Jeff Acton in Tokyo, and Heejun Yang in Seoul.
October 2011, William Blair & Co. acquired a 10% stake in Business Development Asia LLC in anticipation of executing more cross-border deals. Chicago-based William Blair said the new tie will build its investment banking business in Asian markets, by giving it a presence in Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Bahrain, and beefing up its existing teams in Shanghai, London and New York.
December 2010, BDA was named Investment Banking Firm of the Year by The M&A Advisor. BDA was recognised as a result of its work on transactions during the year for clients such as Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
, Axa Private Equity
AXA Private Equity
AXA Private Equity is a diversified private equity firm with $ 25 billion of assets managed or advised and with an international reach across Europe, North America and Asia...
, Cookson
Cookson
Cookson may refer to:Surname*Brian Cookson, a British cyclist, and president of British Cycling*Catherine Cookson, an English 20th century romance novelist*Harry Cookson, an 19th and 20th century English footballer...
, Henkel
Henkel
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA is an multinational company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.The company operates in three business areas: Home Care , Personal Care ,...
, Life Technologies
Life Technologies
Life Technologies is a global biotechnology company headquartered in Carlsbad, California. It possesses a portfolio of more than 9 million genetic research assays and custom solutions...
, Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
, Rexel
Rexel
Rexel is a French group founded in 1967. It is specialised in the professional distribution of electrical supplies. The solutions offered by Rexel cover a wide range of equipment, including lighting, security, automation, climate control, communication, building automation and renewable energies....
and The Weir Group.
BDA has advised Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies and other large companies to acquire and to divest businesses in Asia, including Air Products, Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
, Arkema
Arkema
Arkema is a French producer of chemicals headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France.Created in 2004 when French oil major Total restructured its Chemicals business, Arkema has 14,000 employees in more than 40 countries, seven research centers worldwide, and a total of 80 production plants in...
, Clariant
Clariant
Clariant is a Swiss speciality chemical company which was formed in 1995 as a spin off from Sandoz.- Business :The company has a turnover of around US$8 billion and is headquartered in Muttenz, near Basel, Switzerland....
, Cookson
Cookson
Cookson may refer to:Surname*Brian Cookson, a British cyclist, and president of British Cycling*Catherine Cookson, an English 20th century romance novelist*Harry Cookson, an 19th and 20th century English footballer...
, DIC
DIC
- Science :* Differential interference contrast microscopy, an illumination technique in optical microscopy* Diisopropylcarbodiimide, a reagent in organic chemistry* Digital Integrating Computer, a digital implementation of a Differential Analyzer...
, Dow
Dow
-People:*Herbert Henry Dow , founder of Dow Chemical Company*Charles Dow , founder of Dow Jones & Co*James R. Dow, professor of German language*Paula Dow , 58th Attorney General of New Jersey*Neal S...
, DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, Ecolab
Ecolab
Ecolab, Inc. is a St. Paul, Minnesota based sanitation supply company founded in 1923.The company provides sanitation and pest control supplies, foodservice equipment repair and parts, food safety services and consulting to restaurants, hospitals, food and beverage plants, laundries, schools,...
, Henkel
Henkel
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA is an multinational company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.The company operates in three business areas: Home Care , Personal Care ,...
, Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, ITW, Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls, Inc. is a company, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It was founded in 1885 by professor Warren S. Johnson, inventor of the first electric room thermostat....
, Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. Kimberly-Clark brand name products include "Kleenex" facial tissue, "Kotex" feminine hygiene products, "Cottonelle", Scott and Andrex toilet paper, Wypall utility wipes, "KimWipes"...
, Lear
Lear
Lear or Leir can refer to:* Leir of Britain, a legendary king of the Britons* King Leir, an anonymous play based on the legend of Leir of Britain, published in 1605...
, Molex
Molex
Molex is a leading global supplier of electronic interconnectors. Molex sells over 100,000 products, including everything from electrical and fiber optic interconnect solutions to switches and application tooling....
, Nalco
NALCO
NALCO may refer to:* National Aluminium Company - India's Govt sector Aluminium manufacturer* Nalco Holding Company - formerly known as Nalco Chemical Company* Nalconagar, Angul - a town in Angul District, Orissa, India...
, Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
, Rohm and Haas
Rohm and Haas
Rohm and Haas Company, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based company, manufactures miscellaneous materials. Formerly a Fortune 500 Company, Rohm and Haas employs more than 17,000 people in 27 countries, with its last sales revenue reported as an independent company at USD 8.9 billion. On July 10,...
, Ryder
Ryder
Ryder System, Inc. , or Ryder, is an American-based provider of transportation and supply chain management products, and is especially known for its fleet of rental trucks. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management and dedicated contracted carriage. Ryder operates in North...
, Tenneco
Tenneco
Tenneco is a $6.2 billion Fortune 500 company that has been publicly traded on the NYSE since November 5, 1999 under the symbol TEN...
, Visteon
Visteon
Visteon is one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive parts. The company formed in 1997 and spun off from the Ford Motor Company in 2000. In 2005, Visteon moved to new headquarters in Van Buren Township, Michigan...
, Weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
, and WR Grace.
May 2010, BDA advised Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
on selling its swine vaccine business in China to Harbin Pharmaceutical, backed by Citic
CITIC
Not to be confused with Citigroup, another large financial services company.Not to be confused with CIT Group, another large financial services company....
and Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus, LLC is an American private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Asia. It has been a private equity investor since 1966...
, notable as the first antitrust divestiture in China mandated by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom). BDA has emerged as one of the leading mid market houses advising on Asian sellside M&A, successfully selling businesses for Arkema
Arkema
Arkema is a French producer of chemicals headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France.Created in 2004 when French oil major Total restructured its Chemicals business, Arkema has 14,000 employees in more than 40 countries, seven research centers worldwide, and a total of 80 production plants in...
, AXA Private Equity
AXA Private Equity
AXA Private Equity is a diversified private equity firm with $ 25 billion of assets managed or advised and with an international reach across Europe, North America and Asia...
, Clariant
Clariant
Clariant is a Swiss speciality chemical company which was formed in 1995 as a spin off from Sandoz.- Business :The company has a turnover of around US$8 billion and is headquartered in Muttenz, near Basel, Switzerland....
, Henkel
Henkel
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA is an multinational company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.The company operates in three business areas: Home Care , Personal Care ,...
, Rexel
Rexel
Rexel is a French group founded in 1967. It is specialised in the professional distribution of electrical supplies. The solutions offered by Rexel cover a wide range of equipment, including lighting, security, automation, climate control, communication, building automation and renewable energies....
, and WestLB
WestLB
WestLB AG is a European commercial bank based in Düsseldorf in Germany which is partly owned by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The letters LB in the name stand for Landesbank. The Landesbanken are a group of state owned banks unique to Germany...
.
BDA was the Asian partner 1997-2009 in the Close Brothers Group
Close Brothers Group
Close Brothers Group plc is a British specialist financial services group based in the City of London. The company makes loans, trades securities and provides advice and investment management solutions to a wide range of clients....
, until Daiwa SMBC acquired Close Brothers Corporate Finance in 2009. BDA has co-operated internationally with Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey, Inc. is the largest private investment bank in the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the firm advises middle-market and large public and private companies. Its main service lines include mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, restructuring, fairness opinions,...
, Harris Williams, Jefferies
Jefferies
Jefferies may refer to:Companies:* Jefferies & Company, a global investment bank and institutional securities firmPeople:* Alan Jefferies , Australian writer* Chris Jefferies , American basketball player...
, Lincoln International
Lincoln International
Lincoln International is an independent investment bank specializing in advisory services and financings for middle-market companies. The firm provides a variety of advisory services including mergers & acquisitions, fairness opinions, debt and restructuring advisory. The firm completed more than...
, Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
, Greene Holcomb & Fisher, Daewoo Securities
Daewoo Securities
Daewoo Securities is the largest stock brokerage and investment banking firm by market capitalization in Korea. The company has been a subsidiary of KDB Financial Group since the early 2000s. Its name orginates from the large Daewoo Conglomerate of Korea to which it originally belonged to.Daewoo...
, WestLB
WestLB
WestLB AG is a European commercial bank based in Düsseldorf in Germany which is partly owned by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The letters LB in the name stand for Landesbank. The Landesbanken are a group of state owned banks unique to Germany...
, and other investment banks.
BDA advised on 14 successful transactions in the 2010, 9 transactions in 2009, and 11 transactions in 2008. BDA has particular expertise in the chemicals, automotive, pharma and advanced manufacturing industries. Most of its business involves China, India, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East.
BDA won “Cross Border M&A Deal of the Year” award in its category, awarded by Global M&A Network in November 2010. BDA acted as exclusive buy-side advisor to Molex
Molex
Molex is a leading global supplier of electronic interconnectors. Molex sells over 100,000 products, including everything from electrical and fiber optic interconnect solutions to switches and application tooling....
, a global electronic components company headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, on the acquisition of Zhenjiang Tean Telecom & Appliances, a Chinese manufacturer of radio frequency and microwave products.
Euan Rellie, BDA co-founder and Senior Managing Director, received the “Boutique M&A Investment Banker of the Year” award in November 2010, honoring him for completing transactions including the sale of Pfizer Inc’s animal vaccine business in China to Harbin Pharmaceutical, and Molex
Molex
Molex is a leading global supplier of electronic interconnectors. Molex sells over 100,000 products, including everything from electrical and fiber optic interconnect solutions to switches and application tooling....
’s acquisition of Zhenjiang Tean. "I am proud that Global M&A has recognized BDA for our advisory work on these ground-breaking transactions in Asia" said Rellie. "It reinforces what our clients are telling us: that BDA is the best-positioned crossborder investment banking firm in the region."
BDA won the “Asia Pacific M&A Deal of the Year” award in its category at the Asia Pacific M&A Atlas Awards Gala, as the exclusive sell-side advisor to Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
, on the May 2010 divestment of its market leading animal vaccine business in China. The buyer was Harbin Bio-Vaccine, an animal health subsidiary of Harbin Pharmaceutical (“Hayao”), a leading pharma company in China. Hayao is owned partly by CITIC
CITIC
Not to be confused with Citigroup, another large financial services company.Not to be confused with CIT Group, another large financial services company....
and Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus, LLC is an American private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Asia. It has been a private equity investor since 1966...
. The divestment was required by the Anti-Trust Bureau of China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) as a condition for its approval of the US$68bn Pfizer/Wyeth merger, closed in October 2009. This was the first time that a business in China has been sold as a consequence of Chinese competition authorities’ review of a global merger following the new Anti-Monopoly Law of August 2008.
BDA won the 2009 "Deal of the Year - Islamic Finance" award for Europe from The Banker / Financial Times group. BDA acted as buy-side advisor to Seera Investment Bank (formerly United International Bank, UIB), a Shari'a compliant investment bank in Bahrain, on the leveraged acquisition of BWA Water Additives, a leading water treatment solution provider, in the UK. The buyout was financed in part by a multi-tranche
Tranche
In structured finance, a tranche is one of a number of related securities offered as part of the same transaction. The word tranche is French for slice, section, series, or portion, and is cognate to English trench . In the financial sense of the word, each bond is a different slice of the deal's...
debt facility, structured in accordance with Islamic Shari'a principles, and obtained exclusively from UK-based institutions, as the credit crisis approached its peak in September 2008.
BDA claims to be the leading independent player in crossborder M&A in Asia and the Middle East.
BDA publishes free Quarterly newsletters covering Asian industry and M&A news covering several sectors: Automotive, Chemicals, Health, Transport and Logistics, and Technology.
Sector experience
- Aluminum
- Automotive
- Chemicals
- Coatings
- Consumer
- Electrical
- Electronics
- Financial Services
- Food & Beverage
- Healthcare
- Industrial Manufacturing
- IT & Software
- Media
- Metals & Mining
- Pharmaceuticals
- Plastics
- Retail
- Semiconductors
- Steel
- Travel & Logistics