Deloitte expands M&A capabilities in Philippines with Primeiro Partners

Deloitte has beefed up its financial advisory capabilities in Southeast Asia with the acquisition of Primeiro Partners, a Philippines-based M&A consultancy business.

Founded by Stephen Sieh in 2012, Primeiro Partners has a track record than spans originating and advising on over 40 transactions since its inception.

The Manila-based firm provides advisory services to companies, financial institutions and professional investors in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific Regio, on topics including capital raising, mergers & acquisitions, project financing, and financial re-engineering.

Commenting on the deal, Muralidhar M.S.K, Financial Advisory leader for Southeast Asia at Deloitte, said: “The addition of Primeiro Partners to Deloitte’s Financial Advisory practice will enable our combined teams to provide a unique end to end M&A offering including capital raising and financial restructuring to our clients in the Philippines and across the Southeast Asia region.”

The integration will see the Primeiro Partners team joins Deloitte’s wider Southeast Asia Financial Advisory practice, with Stephen Sieh leading the Financial Advisory practice in the Philippines.

“I look forward to working together to shape a comprehensive and unparalleled approach to the marketplace, anchored by our people focused on providing our clients with the highest levels of execution, ensuring successful outcomes, enhanced reputations and longstanding business relationships,” said Sieh, who worked at Evercore and Lazard in New York before launching Primeiro Partners.

In Southeast Asia, Deloitte’s Financial Advisory practice is powered by over 600 partners and more than 13,000 professionals working from offices in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Eugene Ho, CEO for Southeast Asia at Deloitte, said that the bolt-on aligns with the firm’s strategic focus on expanding in the region. “The Philippines is a very important market in our plans to scale up our practice across Southeast Asia. The addition of Primeiro Partners will enhance our already strong capability and give us an innovative edge to the way we go to market.”