Lincoln International
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Investment banking, Financial services |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Robert B. Barr, Jim Lawson |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Number of employees | 1000+ (2024) |
| Website | www |
Lincoln International LLC operates as a global independent investment bank and financial services company, focusing on advisory and financing solutions tailored to middle market transactions. Its clientele includes publicly listed firms, privately held businesses, financial sponsors such as private equity, venture capital, family offices, hedge funds, and lending institutions. The firm's advisory expertise spans mergers & acquisitions, capital advisory services including growth equity, debt, and restructuring, as well as valuations and opinions, private funds advisory, and joint ventures and partnership arrangements. In 2021 alone, Lincoln completed upwards of 400 advisory projects worldwide and conducted over 10,000 valuations involving debt and equity.
Founded in 1996 by Robert B. Barr and Jim Lawson, Lincoln International is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm maintains a presence through 25 offices distributed across North America (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Cleveland, Richmond), Europe (Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich), Asia (Beijing, Mumbai, Bangalore, Tokyo), and South America (São Paulo).
In April 2023, Lincoln International broadened its reach into the Oceania market through a strategic alliance with Miles Advisory Partners, which operates offices in both Sydney and Melbourne. The firm's Indian operations are headquartered in Mumbai.
History
Lincoln International originated in 1996 under the name Lincoln Partners, founded by Rob Barr, Jim Lawson, Ed Hanlon, and Eric Malchow as a boutique investment banking enterprise. Barr and Lawson had been professional partners since 1981; Hanlon joined in 1988, followed by Malchow in 1994. Prior to establishing Lincoln Partners, the founding team primarily worked at Paine Webber, which was acquired by UBS in 2000.
By the end of the 1990s, Lincoln Partners had grown to approximately 30 employees and obtained registration as a broker-dealer.
The formation of Lincoln International occurred in January 2006 through the merger of Lincoln Partners with Peters Associates—two middle-market investment banks from the United States and Germany respectively—and incorporated a KPMG team that established a Paris office. At the time of this merger, Lincoln International operated offices in Chicago, Frankfurt, New York, and Paris. These entities had been collaborating since 2005 under a strategic joint venture.
As of July 2024, Lincoln International employs more than 1,000 professionals globally and is exploring an IPO to facilitate its expansion plans.