Greg Revenu (Co-founder & Managing Partner, Bryan Garnier): "Many mid-sized startups now require specialist financial advisors"

Leaders League. What factors contributed to the launch of JMP Bryan Garnier?

Greg Revenu. Three parameters contributed to the launch of this transatlantic investment banking platform. The first factor is our overlap in terms of industry focus: both of us have recognized expertise in healthcare, technology and the renewable energy sectors. Secondly, we both have active M&A and capital markets services. To illustrate this, Bryan, Garnier & Co was involved in close to twenty ECM transactions over last three years, including the Nasdaq IPOs and follow-ons of LDR Holdings, DBV Technologies, Celyad or Galapagos, while JMP Securities was involved in 20% of the tech and biotech IPOs in the US.

In fact, we started working together on the IPO of LDR Holding as early as in 2013 and know each other very well. Last but not least, there is no risk of confrontation. We share the same entrepreneurial spirit and don’t intend to enter each other’s historical market, the idea being to create a joint platform for our common growth and partner on the origination and execution of transatlantic deals, facilitating access to the American market for European clients and vice versa.

How have the financing needs of growth companies evolved in the tech and health sectors?

The market has evolved to a point where a huge number of mid-sized startups now require specialist financial advisors who understand their technologies and share the same agility. However, big investment banks don’t have the adequate size, culture or structure to address such demands, and that’s where independent boutiques like us come in, to accompany these clients all along their financing chain and develop their pool of investors in Europe as well as in the US, support them in their acquisition strategy or strategic sale, for which a global presence is essential. In that regard, JMP Bryan Garnier is a transatlantic bridge between institutional investors, strategic investors, and growth companies.

What is your strategy for the future?

Since 1996, Bryan, Garnier & Co has been striving to build the European leading full service growth investment bank. We have not lost our focus in spite of the adverse environment we have faced over the past 20 years. Our focus today remains as strong as ever, supported by 150 professionals, 15 partners, and even more importantly hundreds of fast growing clients such as Devialet, Symetis or Tado. They demand increasing support and long term commitment to help fund their growth privately or on the European and US stock markets, ask us to conduct their acquisition strategies, or rely on us to find the right industrial partners when the time for selling comes. To fulfill this demanding ambition, we deploy continuous effort to seek new partners to join us, and increase our presence in the key geographies of our industry focus. Northern Europe, where life science meets technology, has been a key region for Bryan, Garnier & Co over the recent years, with clients such as Zealand Pharma, Canatu or Visedo. It is today an important area of development for our firm.

More on Bryan Garnier & Co:

Case Study: Bryan, Garnier & Co: Twenty Years of Conquest and Development 

Interview with Carter Mack (President, JMP Group)

Interview with Nicolas d’Halluin (Partner, Bryan Garnier & Co, US) 

Interview with Falk Müller-Veerse (Partner, Bryan Garnier & Co, Germany)

Interview with Robert Pfeiffer (Managing Director – Media Team, Bryan Garnier & Co)