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Healthcare Banking Expands to Meet the Needs of Clients, Driving Strong Transaction Momentum

This year has been a breakout period for Oppenheimer’s Healthcare Investment Banking Team as they continue to move upstream across a wide variety of measures. Just like 2020 and 2019 before it, 2021 has shaped up to be a very strong year with book run deal volume up 24 percent year-over-year with average book run deal size up 47 percent.

In all, the team closed 60 financings year-to-date for proceeds of more than $5 billion. Over the course of the year, they added a number of key individuals to help provide a broader range of services and unparalleled value to both companies and investors. The team recently added Jonathan Fassberg as vice chair with extensive experience in corporate strategy and very strong buy side relationships, and Don Ritucci as head of healthcare M&A with substantial transaction experience.

In addition, Oppenheimer’s highly productive healthcare research group now covers more than 200 companies over a broad range of healthcare verticals including biotech, services, medical devices, diagnostics and digital health. The research team continues to add value through informed and differentiated viewpoints while sharing Oppenheimer’s strong commitment to clients and the healthcare industry.

Healthcare M&A is On Track for a Record Setting 2021

Oppenheimer’s Healthcare Services Group sets a record as the rate of healthcare mergers and acquisitions activity increased significantly in 2021. Since January 2020, the Healthcare Services Group has closed 15 M&A transactions valued at approximately $3.3 billion – an average of $220 million per deal. Most of the deal activity is taking place in the physician sector where the Healthcare Services Group has now completed a total of 25 physician partnerships.

The Tech Boom Continues

For the technology industry, 2021 has been a year of record capital markets activity. At Oppenheimer, momentum in the technology advisory business continued to strongly complement the Technology Investment Banking Group’s underwriting business. The group advised on 12 M&A transactions worth a total of $9.6 billion, and revenue is firmly on track to triple year-over-year after a record-breaking 2020. Additionally, the team was proud to have closed 82 financings, representing more than $59 billion in capital, to fund the growth and liquidity needs of the companies that are redefining how we learn, work, eat, and play.

Most notably, the pace of Tech IPOs continued to set records with Oppenheimer’s Technology team bringing 40 young companies public through IPOs, direct listings, and SPACs, significantly expanding our client base and creating new long-term investment opportunities for our institutional investor and wealth management clients. Significantly, ChargePoint Inc. and Valens Semiconductor, Oppenheimer’s first two Private Market Opportunities investments, took advantage of the SPAC boom to raise large amounts of growth capital and enter the public markets – garnering market capitalizations of $8 billion and $1 billion respectively and earning significant markups to the Oppenheimer retail clients who invested in those funds.

Debt Capital Markets Group Reaches Important Milestones

The DCM Group is a global business that generates most of its revenue outside the US. The group has closed deals in Latin America/Caribbean, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Over the last year, they have achieved a number of important milestones, including closing deals overseas and hiring new talent.

Recently, the DCM group closed their first deal in Eastern Europe, a $150 million bond for Eleving Group, a non-bank finance company headquartered in Latvia. Over the summer, they closed a $300 million benchmark bond for Inversiones Atlantida, a bank holding company based in Honduras.

In addition, the group acted as Joint Lead Manager on a $920 million bond for Nesco Holdings in 2021.

Last year, Guillaume Petitgas, a Managing Director joined the team and is based in London. Guillaume previously worked at HSBC and Merrill Lynch. He covers CEEMEA and works closely with Farhod Inogambaev and Igor Skochillo in New York on Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Exciting Developments for the Global Consumer Investment Banking Group

In 2021, the team has advised on several U.S., European, and cross-border M&A transactions in the bakery and dairy sectors exceeding $1.3 billion in value including the sale of Decopac, the leading U.S. cake decoration business to Private Equity firm Kohlberg & Co., the sale of HEMA Bakeries, the leading Dutch bakery platform to BACU, and the sale of Leerdammer, the leading pan European branded cheese business by Bel Group to Lactalis Group. In addition, the team had a number of transactions where they have had Co-Manager roles in IPOs including Sweetgreen, Lifetime Fitness, and Oatly. The Consumer team has also been executing cross-border capital raises, SPAC advisory, and ATM equity offering transactions in its CBD/Cannabis segment.

The Consumer team continues its expansion and build-out of the team with the appointment of Jean-Marie Gianni as Managing Director based in New York with primary focus on the Health & Beauty and Personal Care markets. Mr. Gianni was previously with Moelis as a senior member of their practice in these sectors. This follows the appointment of James Murray, as managing director in our London office at the end of 2020 to further expand the European and cross-border consumer franchise.

Given the ever-increasing focus on the importance of Personal Care and Health & Wellness, as well as Food & Beverage in the consumer space, Oppenheimer is well-positioned to provide its corporate and private equity clients with seamless global coverage across every segment.

Public Finance Setting New Records for Volume of Lead-Managed Activity

Through the first 10 months of 2021, Public Finance has surpassed its record volume of lead managed activity set in 2020; the group’s $2.56 billion of sole, senior-managed or private placement activity for 2021 year-to-date is 24 percent greater than its total volume for fiscal year 2020. The average transaction size for such deals has increased over 10 percent from 2020 levels to $30.1 million.

The pace of activity is department-wide, driven by an increasing number of large, senior managed mandates. In October 2021, Oppenheimer sole managed its largest ever municipal bond offering, a $346.1 million taxable federal lease revenue bond issued to finance a portfolio of four facilities leased to the United States General Services Administration (consisting of 3 FBI Field Offices and a National Archives storage facility). The group’s $18.3 million bond offering for the Four Corners County Water & Sewer District in Bozeman, MT included the first ever issuance of insured special assessment bonds in the state of Montana. The performance also underscores the variety of Oppenheimer’s issuer-client relationships: in October 2021, the group senior managed its first ever bond offering for the City of New Haven, CT and 22nd bond offering for the Town of Lexington, SC. Oppenheimer’s record performance is attributable to expansion into new sectors (federal lease and utility revenue) and new geographies (California and Michigan), as well as continuing strong performances in core regions such as the Northeast, Texas, and Illinois.