Raymond James significantly expanded its global capabilities and enhanced its coverage of private equity investors and strategic buyers located in Asia, with the recent addition of senior investment bankers dedicated to providing access to buyers and sellers in the Asian markets, and specifically, China.
“We have recently added three native Chinese finance professionals to our Investment Banking ranks,” said Jim Bunn, co-president Global Equities and Investment Banking. “These experienced bankers will help us deliver on our growth strategy of increasing cross-border deal flow between the U.S., Europe and China, and facilitate the expansion of our middle market advisory efforts in China and, more broadly, across the rest of Asia.”
Dennis Zhang, CFA, has been hired as a Managing Director responsible for Asian coverage and will be based in San Francisco.He comes to Raymond James from Stifel’s Investment Banking division where he spent eight years, and last served as a Director and head of the firm’s China coverage practice focusing primarily on IPOs of Chinese companies in the U.S. and cross-border M&A transactions between China and the U.S.
Prior to Stifel and during his MBA studies he spent time as an investment banking summer associate with Citi’s financial sponsors and consumer and retail groups, and also spent three years with Context Capital Group, a New York City based investment banking firm focused on middle market M&A and private placements. Dennis has a Bachelor’s degree in English and International Economics from Beijing Foreign Studies University, a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University, and an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and English.
“I am very excited about joining the Raymond James platform,” said Dennis. “As a leading U.S. middle market investment bank with strong product and industry expertise, Raymond James is uniquely positioned to benefit from the strong cross-border M&A deal flow and IPO activities of Chinese companies in the U.S., both of which present huge long-term growth opportunities. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues across the firm to deliver world class investment banking services to China and Asia-based clients and to help our U.S. clients better access China and Asia.”
In November 2017, Xinyin Zhang was named Vice President responsible for Asian coverage and is based in Munich, Germany. She had been a member of the group’s European Advisory board for the prior eight months, and has, over the past seven years, worked with several corporate finance firms in Germany, and Straumann AG in Europe. Xinyin has also served as an independent advisor to family holdings and venture funds in Europe and Asia. She is experienced in cross-border M&A, fundraising, joint-venture and strategic projects with China, and particularly familiar with industrial, consumer, healthcare and semiconductor sectors. Recently, she helped advise the Hong Kong based Nison Group on its acquisition of a leading European kitchen supplier – SieMatic. She speaks fluent Mandarin, English and German and holds degrees from Beijing University, Cranfield University and the London School of Economics.
In April 2018, Weidong Wang joined the Munich team as an Asia-focused investment banking analyst. A recent graduate of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management with a Master’s degree in Business Administration, she also has a degree from the University Shandong in China. Prior work experiences include Thomas Cook, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Kraus Elektrotechnik. She speaks fluent Mandarin, English and German.
“As foreign direct investments show, China is an active investor worldwide, especially in medical and industrial technologies and branded consumer products,” said Melville Mummert, who heads European Investment Banking at Raymond James, with offices in Munich, Frankfurt and London. “Since Xinyin joined us last year, we have continued to enhance our firm-wide ability to access Chinese investors for our sell-side mandates as well as advised Chinese buyers on European acquisitions. With the addition of Dennis based in San Francisco, we now have a global coverage team to support all of our industry groups’ advisory mandates where access to, and familiarity with, Asia is critical.”
About Raymond James Investment Banking
Raymond James Investment Banking offers highly regarded capital formation and financial advisory services. Since 2013, Raymond James has participated in raising $300 billion in capital for its corporate clients and completed more than 400 advisory assignments, including more than 350 M&A buy-side or sell-side advisory assignments.
About Raymond James Financial, Inc.
Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a leading diversified financial services company providing private client group, capital markets, asset management, banking and other services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. The company has approximately 7,600 financial advisors in 3,000 locations throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Total client assets are $730 billion. Public since 1983, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RJF. Additional information is available at www.raymondjames.com. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC.
