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May 22 (Reuters) - Mizuho Financial Group Inc will acquire U.S. M&A advisory firm Greenhill & Co Inc, as Japan's No. 3 lender accelerates its push for a larger share of the world's largest investment banking fee pool.
Mizuho will pay $15 per share for Greenhill in cash, reflecting an enterprise value of about $550 million including assumed debt, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.
The announcement prompted Greenhill shares to more than double to $14.68 in the early hours of trading.
Mizuho has bolstered its U.S. debt underwriting capabilities since its 2015 acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland's North American corporate loan portfolio, leaving M&A advisory and equity underwriting as areas targeted for further growth.
Last year, it bought Texas-based private equity placement agent Capstone Partners.
Among major Japanese banks, Mizuho's bigger rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in April announced it would boost its stake in U.S. investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc from 4.5% to as much as 15%.
The Greenhill business will sit within Mizuho's banking division, led by Michal Katz, head of banking in the Americas, the statement said.
Greenhill Chairman and CEO Scott L. Bok will become chairman of the M&A and restructuring advisory business, it added.
Last year Yoshiro Hamamoto, CEO of Mizuho's brokerage arm, told Reuters that the group "has room for further growth" in the United States, and that acquisitions were an option it was exploring. (Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Jan Harvey)
