Moelis & Co is considering an initial public offering of its Australian advisory, funds management and capital markets business in a move that would be akin to Macquarie Bank listing 20 years ago.
Fund manager sources told Street Talk that the Andrew Pridham-led Moelis Australia had been testing listed equity investor appetite for the potential move, and was considering a number of different deal structures.
Moelis Australia started in 2009 and is 50 per cent owned by the New York-headquartered Moelis & Co, with local staff taking the other 50 per cent.
The local business has about $75 million revenue a year and 80 staff across offices in Sydney and Melbourne.
Sources said Moelis had already appointed Herbert Smith Freehills and Deloitte to help with the mooted listing.
It's expected to see both Moelis & Co and the local Moelis bankers retain all of their shares in Moelis Australia, with funds raised from new investors to be slated for growth across the business.
Moelis & Co founder Ken Moelis is expected to remain on the Moelis Australia board.
Moelis is best known in the market for property M&A; and complex balance sheet restructuring deals.
Its recent clients include property managers Centuria Capital, Elanor and Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group, along with hedge funds involved in the Nine Entertainment Co and Billabong International restructures. It has also been helping KKR & Co on its options for Bis Industries.
Then there is the firm's asset management business, which has more than $1.2 billion under management.
While Moelis Australia's listing wouldn't be the biggest float of next year, it would certainly create ripples across investment banking and the financial services sector.
It comes at a time when local investment banking chiefs and their offshore bosses think - again - about where their Australian businesses fit into the global operations. It also comes as senior dealmakers re-assess their own careers in light of increasing regulation and the wider economic environment.
Elsewhere in the sector, there are changes are afoot in Macquarie Private Wealth's Brisbane office amid further departures, sources told Street Talk.
It is understood Macquarie has lost Rod Graham, who was one of the first people into the bank's Brisbane office, along with two other advisers.
And in Melbourne, it is understood Roger Gamble has left the broker after 17 years with Macquarie. Gamble was known for an institutional and high net worth client base that included mining executives, both past and present, and with strong relationships up and down Collins Street.
Correction: The fourth paragraph was corrected to say revenue of about $75 million.
