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 The action comes as other international banks reconsider their U.S.
investment banking strategy. Earlier this week, Japan's Nomura
Holdings Inc <8604.T>, for example, laid off more than two-thirds of
the bankers working at its leveraged buyouts group.
Like Nomura, Macquarie has focused in the last few years on advising
on and financing private equity deals, as a way to gain investment
banking market share with corporate America. But most of the layoffs
at Macquarie, which were announced internally earlier this month,
targeted industry coverage rather than leveraged buyout bankers.
The job cuts came as Macquarie merged several industry groups in its
investment banking division, the people said on Wednesday.
The industrials group was disbanded and some chemicals bankers
joined the infrastructure team, the people said. The consumer group
was merged with the gaming and leisure group, while the healthcare
services information technology group was absorbed by the
technology, media and telecommunications group, the people said.
In total, Macquarie's U.S. investment banking division will continue
to employ more than 200 staff, the people said, asking not to be
identified because the layoffs have not been announced publicly. A
Macquarie spokesman declined to comment.
Macquarie is also looking to hire investment bankers with strong
sector expertise who have carved out niches for themselves, the
people said. An example would be David Berman, who joined Macquarie
in 2011 covering gaming, lodging and leisure, the people added.
Jorge Mora, who heads Macquarie's financial sponsor coverage, has
also taken on origination, working with the industry groups to
attract top bankers and deals, the people said.
Macquarie made its debut as the top bookrunner of loans backing U.S.
private equity buyouts in the league tables for the first quarter of
2016, as intense market volatility and regulation designed to curb
risky lending weighed on traditional lenders.
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Many of Macquarie's competitors suffered from "hung" debt deals last
year, which they struggled to syndicate. But the Australian bank
made money on most of the deals it chose to underwrite, according to
the sources.
Because of its foreign funding base, Macquarie is also exempt from
U.S. regulations introduced in 2013 to curb the issuance of
junk-related loans
Macquarie continues to turn down many deals and focuses primarily on
the so-called U.S. middle-market, where transactions are smaller
than $5 billion, the people said. For example, Macquarie last year
refused to finance Dell Inc's $67 billion acquisition of EMC Corp
because its participation in the debt package would have been
relatively small, the people added.
(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by
Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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