Lazard Buys $575 Million Firm to Boost Private Markets Push

A chance meeting 17 years ago between Lazard Inc. CEO Peter Orszag and Hungary’s then-Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai is spinning into the investment bank’s first major acquisition: a $575 million purchase of Campbell Lutyens, the largest independent private capital adviser.

The deal combining Campbell Lutyens, now run by Bajnai, and Lazard’s comparable advisory team led by Holcombe Green III will create a third division named Lazard CL inside the 177-year-old New York-based firm. The takeover aims to turn Lazard into a global powerhouse for one of the hottest areas of Wall Street dealmaking, advising on private market transactions.