Harris Williams & Co. Ltd Opens German Office; Firm Appoints Jeffery Perkins as Head

Harris Williams & Co. Ltd Opens German Office; Firm Appoints Jeffery Perkins as Head

International Expansion Continues as Harris Williams & Co. Grows Share in M&A Market

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Harris Williams & Co., a preeminent middle market investment bank, has opened a new office in Germany as part of the firm's continued international expansion. The Frankfurt office is led by Managing Director Jeffery Perkins who, along with a team of seasoned professionals, has broad experience across many industries. The new office, which will focus on M&A transactions across Europe, will strengthen the firm's cross-border deal flow, its access to buyers across continental Europe and its ability to bring US buyers to European sellers. This is the firm's second European office opened in three years; in December 2009, Harris Williams & Co. opened its London office, led by Thierry Monjauze.

Harris Williams & Co. is one of the largest and most reputable middle market M&A advisors. Although global M&A deal volume was down in 2012, Harris Williams & Co. closed a record number of transactions with more than 75 deals, enabling the firm to continue gaining market share. With the opening of the Frankfurt office, Harris Williams & Co. will have eight offices across the US and Europe and approximately 215 employees. The firm is a leader in middle market sell-side M&A, serving clients worldwide across a broad range of industries. The firm's clients have included some of the world's most prominent private equity groups and venture capital firms, privately and publicly-held businesses, and corporations such as GE, Cardinal Health, Danaher, Lafarge and Sunoco. Cross-border transactions include the sale of Cari-All Group Inc. to German-based buyer Wanzl Metallwarenfabrik GmbH; the sale of Seaboard Holdings Inc. to UK-based buyer The Weir Group PLC for $675 million; the sale of Tandus Group, Inc. to French-based buyer Tarkett Enterprises Inc.; the sale of Ukrop's Super Markets, Inc. to Netherlands-based buyer Royal Ahold; the sale of Cigars International, Inc. to Swedish-based buyer Swedish Match AB; and the sale of Graham-White Manufacturing Company, Inc. to French-based Faiveley Transport S.A., among others.

Perkins has 19 years of investment banking experience in Germany. He joins Harris Williams & Co. Ltd from Daiwa Corporate Advisory GmbH (formerly Close Brothers Germany), where he was responsible for cross-border assignments in and out of German speaking markets. Perkins has advised on sell-side M&A, acquisition, public takeover, pre-IPO and restructuring mandates across a variety of sectors including automotive, flow control, energy and power, electronic equipment and capital goods, among others. He has also closed more than thirty cross-border M&A transactions involving Asian, European and U.S. companies. While at Close Brothers, he established and led the European Automotive and Flow Control Groups and was responsible for the Industrials team in Germany. Perkins' most recent transactions include the sale of Blohm + Voss Industries for STAR Capital to SKF Group (Sweden); the sale of Coperion GmbH for Deutsche Beteiligungs AG to Hillenbrand, Inc. (US); and the sale of Phönix-Strack Valve Group for AXA Private Equity to Curtiss Wright (US).

"While many other firms are scaling back, we believe now is the time to grow," said Chris Williams, co-founder of Harris Williams & Co. "Our firm has performed exceptionally well despite market turmoil and the expansion into Germany offers a tremendous opportunity for us to continue to build our platform."

"Jeff knows the European market, has incredible experience closing cross-border transactions across Europe and will be a terrific complement to our firm," said Hiter Harris, co-founder of Harris Williams & Co. "Our expansion will help us continue to best serve our clients and gain additional access to buyers worldwide."

Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com) is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYS: PNC) , a diversified financial services organization.

Investment banking services are provided by Harris Williams LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd conduct business.

For general release inquiries, contact Marketing Director, Kimberly Baker in the US at +1 804 648 0072.

Harris Williams & Co.
Kimberly Baker, Marketing Director
+1 804-648-0072

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