CORRECT: Moelis & Co Hires Liam Beere From UBS For M&A

Moelis & Co. Tuesday said it has hired Liam Beere from UBS AG (UBS, UBSN.VX) to work in its mergers-and-acquisitions advisory business with global client coverage, in the latest blow for UBS after a rash of departures by other senior bankers.

Moelis said Beere will join Sept. 19 and will be based in London as a managing director. He had worked for UBS for 19 years, most recently as global head of M&A.

At Moelis, Beere will become a partner, with equity in the business, and play a key role in expanding the firm's M&A activities, said Mark Aedy, head of EMEA investment banking at Moelis.

"He will be leading the charge on M&A in EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa], and will be front and center to make sure we're right on top of M&A developments," Aedy said.

Moelis, which advises companies on mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and other transactions, has about 100 people based in London, of 500 staff globally. It was started by former UBS investment-banking head Ken Moelis in 2007.

Its reputation as one of Wall Street's top boutiques was first cemented with a series of restructuring advisory roles in the financial crisis. More recently, it has been climbing the league tables in M&A advisory, with Dealogic data showing it has advised on 24 deals so far this year worth $35.5 billion, up from 15 deals worth $9 billion in the same period last year.

Recent deals in Europe include advising Avista Capital Partners, a part owner of Swiss drug maker Nycomed A/S, on Nycomed's sale to Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. (4502.TO, TKPYY), and giving Norwegian conglomerate Orkla ASA (ORK.OS, ORKLY) advice on the sale of its Elkem unit to China National Bluestar Group.

Beere's departure from UBS is the latest in a string of high-profile resignations. Cary Kochman, who had been co-head of global M&A with Beere, left for Citigroup Inc. (C) earlier this month. The moves come as UBS and some of its large banking peers are cutting bonuses and paying out a larger portion of them in deferred shares.

A UBS spokesman declined to comment.

Aedy said Moelis is attracting high-caliber people because it offers them the chance to build out businesses, while having an equity stake in Moelis' future.

-By Margot Patrick, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-0-20-7842-9451; [e-mail]