BNP Paribas has acquired Hill Street Capital, a New York-based financial advisory and investment banking firm, which was formed in 2001 by John Brim and Lorenzo Weisman.
At BNP Paribas, Mr Weisman is appointed head of corporate finance for the Americas and Mr Brim will be head of corporate finance energy and commodities for North America.
Globally, Mr Weisman will report to Philippe Meunier, deputy head of corporate finance in Paris and to Everett Schenk, head of territory for North America. In the US, corporate finance will operate and be supervised as a division of BNP Paribas Securities.
Mr Brim and Mr Weisman started their careers at Dillon, Read & Co and have had long careers in investment banking in New York and London. Prior to forming Hill Street Capital, they led different activities at UBS after Dillon Read was acquired by SBC Warburg, shortly before merging with UBS.
The other members of the Hill Street Capital team have worked previously in firms such as Morgan Stanley, Salomon Brothers, Dillon Read, UBS and Lehman Brothers. Hill Street Capital has specialized in mergers and acquisitions and other forms of corporate finance advisory services.
Thierry Varene, global head of corporate finance at BNP Paribas, said: “With the acquisition of Hill Street Capital, we will be adding an experienced team of investment bankers to our existing teams to continue to grow our effort.”
Mr Weisman said: “We are delighted to bring our investment banking experience and to combine it with BNP Paribas’ considerable strengths. They are a solid and dynamic global institution, with the potential to make a significant impact in corporate finance in the Americas.”