Lazard Strengthens Financial Sponsors Group with Guggenheim Hire

Investment bank Lazard has appointed Courtney Haydon from Guggenheim Securities as a managing director. This move is part of Lazard's broader strategy to attract more business from private equity firms. Haydon joins amid a significant rise in global leveraged buyout volumes, reflecting increased capital deployment by buyout firms.

Investment bank Lazard has appointed Courtney Haydon from Guggenheim Securities as a managing director, signaling a strategic push to enhance its dealings with private equity firms and alternative asset managers, a source familiar with the matter disclosed on Thursday.

Haydon is set to join Lazard's financial sponsors coverage group in the coming months. The appointment is part of a larger recruiting effort by Lazard to bolster its business with buyout firms. This year, Lazard has hired nine investment bankers at the managing director level, including key figures from Bank of America and Citigroup.

Haydon previously held a similar senior role at Guggenheim Securities and has also worked at SL Green Realty and Bank of America. Both Lazard and Guggenheim declined to comment on the hire. The move comes as global leveraged buyout activity has surged 41% to $286 billion in the first half of 2024, driven by increased capital deployment from buyout firms, following a period of high financing costs last year.