Lincoln International Acquires Mumbai-based Valuations Provider, Expanding Presence and Offering in India

Adds 25 professionals to Lincoln’s growing, global Valuations & Opinions Group

Lincoln International, a global investment banking advisory firm, announced today the acquisition of EthiQuant Analytics Private Limited (EthiQuant), a 25-person valuations provider based in Mumbai, India. The acquisition significantly expands Lincoln’s product offering in that country and the firm’s growing, global Valuations & Opinions Group, which now has more than 150 professionals across the Americas, Asia and Europe.

EthiQuant was founded by Varun Gupta who joins Lincoln as a Managing Director in the firm’s Mumbai office, along with the team of valuations and administrative professionals he has built.

“India is an incredibly important market for Lincoln,” said Rob Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Lincoln International. “In addition to being a fast-growing, highly active locale for both domestic and international M&A, it is increasingly becoming the epicenter for business and dealmaking for Asia at large, especially as conditions for cross-border collaboration in China become more challenged. The addition of Varun and the team meets numerous strategic criteria for us including enhancing our presence in a key geography, incremental opportunities to deliver additional services and expertise to clients, strong cultural alignment and a shared commitment to success.”

Lincoln’s footprint in India has expanded year-over-year since it opened offices in Mumbai in 2011 and Bangalore in 2020 providing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and Capital Advisory services to public companies, private owners, private equity firms and global asset managers. With the acquisition of EthiQuant, Lincoln now has nearly 60 employees in the country and has taken office space to expand the staff to more than 100.

“We are thrilled to welcome and integrate everyone from EthiQuant to Lincoln and into our global team,” said Ron Kahn, Managing Director and co-head of Lincoln’s Valuations & Opinions Group. “Clients will benefit from the additional expertise, experience and access afforded by professionals who can provide coverage across all major time zones, and our valuations team is immediately complemented by the strong accounting, finance, business backgrounds and great camaraderie of our colleagues from EthiQuant.”

The EthiQuant team joins a talented group of investment banking advisory professionals with deep expertise across the Consumer, Healthcare, Industrials and Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) sectors.

“Varun’s professional experience and reputation will be additive to our platform in India and yield even richer conversations with clients who are thinking about a variety of corporate finance and growth objectives,” stated Gaurav Marathe, Managing Director and Head of Lincoln India. “We are looking forward to introducing this new service as part of a complementary suite of solutions for clients.”

Gupta founded EthiQuant with the purpose of establishing a full-service valuation and analytics provider to both private and public company clients while operating with a culture rooted in mutual respect, professional growth and development and client commitment.

Prior to founding Ethiquant, Gupta was a Managing Director at a major international advisory firm overseeing its Asia Pacific Valuation business and serving as Chairman of the Asia Pacific Management Committee for that firm. He brings 25 years of experience providing valuations and opinions for purposes as diverse as financial reporting, strategic decision-making, tax planning, restructuring, collateralization, transfer pricing, litigation and dispute resolution.

“I am looking forward to the next chapter of success in India and beyond as a leader on Lincoln’s global platform,” stated Gupta. “Our two teams look forward to collaborating and sharing knowledge – reinforcing the cultural and intellectual alignment of our two organizations. The opportunities to grow Lincoln’s valuations business in India and support clients across Asia and beyond as well as introduce other Lincoln services to our existing clients, are inspiring to us all.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.