What Ducera Partners does

Ducera Partners is a privately held, 100% partner-owned boutique investment bank founded in June 2015 by a leadership team that had worked together for nearly three decades, with CEO and Founding Partner Michael Kramer at the helm. Headquartered in New York, the firm provides a full suite of corporate-finance advisory services to corporate enterprises, boards, special committees, and stakeholders navigating business transitions, restructurings, and transformational transactions. Since inception, Ducera has advised on over $850 billion in transactions, operating from four U.S. offices (New York, Los Angeles opened 2019, Stamford opened 2021, and San Francisco opened 2023).

The firm's core service lines are M&A Strategic Advisory (sell-side, buy-side, divestitures, carve-outs, spin-offs, cross-border transactions, takeover defense, fairness opinions, and special committee representation), Restructuring (Chapter 11 proceedings, distressed M&A, out-of-court recapitalizations, expert valuation, and pension/OPEB liability advisory), Liability Management (amendments, consent solicitations, open-market repurchases, exchange and tender offers, and resolution of off-balance-sheet obligations), and Capital Markets Advisory (debt and equity raises, acquisition finance, structured products, and pre-IPO/IPO advisory). The firm also operates a wealth-management channel through a strategic alliance and minority investment in Cary Street Partners, and a growth-ventures franchise via the proprietary Quannix AI tool and the co-owned Hambrecht Ducera Growth Venture Partners (HDGV) fund, supported by strategic access to Growth Science's MESE computing system for disruption analysis.

Ducera generates revenue primarily through professional-services fees on episodic advisory mandates — transaction-based advisory fees, retainers, and success fees on completed deals — with additional principal-investment exposure through its venture fund (HDGV) and minority strategic investments in portfolio companies such as Hambrecht Partners Holdings, Cary Street Partners, and Growth Science. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales: senior partners engage C-suite executives, boards, and special committees on complex mandates, supported by a team of 101–250 employees organized across partner, managing-director, and director ranks with backgrounds spanning Perella Weinberg Partners, Greenhill, Houlihan Lokey, Goldman Sachs, PJT Partners, Blackstone, Morgan Stanley, Centerview, and Lazard.

Name

Ducera Partners

Legal name

Ducera Partners LLC

Website

https://ducerapartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ducera Partners is a privately held, 100% partner-owned boutique investment bank founded in 2015 that provides M&A, restructuring, liability management, capital markets, and growth-ventures advisory services to corporate enterprises, boards, special committees, and distressed companies, having advised on over $850 billion in transactions across four U.S. offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. M&A Strategic Advisory: Providing advice on sell-side, merger and buy-side advisory, divestitures, carve-outs, spin-offs, cross-border transactions, takeover defense, shareholder advisory, fairness opinions, and special committee representation.
2. Restructuring Advisory: Leading-edge capital structure and restructuring advice including pre-packaged, pre-arranged, and traditional Chapter 11 restructurings, distressed M&A, out-of-court recapitalizations, expert valuation, and pension liability advisory.
3. Liability Management: Creative transaction structures addressing stressed balance sheets through amendments, consent solicitations, open market repurchase programs, exchange and tender offers, and resolution of off-balance sheet obligations.
4. Capital Markets Advisory: Debt and equity capital raises, acquisition finance, structured products, and pre-IPO/IPO advisory services.
5. Growth Capital/Venture Investing: Equity investments in early-stage private companies through HDGV venture fund, combining transaction execution expertise with machine learning and data science analytics.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ducera Partners is a boutique investment banking advisory firm that provides independent, senior-led advice on complex and transformational corporate finance transactions. Its core offerings include M&A advisory (sell-side, buy-side, divestitures, cross-border, takeover defense, fairness opinions, special committee representation), restructuring advisory (Chapter 11, distressed M&A, out-of-court recapitalizations, pension liability management), liability management (consent solicitations, tender offers, exchange offers, repurchase programs), and capital markets advisory (debt and equity raises, acquisition finance, IPO advisory).

Product overview

Ducera Partners is a leading investment bank offering a comprehensive suite of advisory services. The firm's core offerings include M&A Strategic Advisory (sell-side, buy-side, divestitures, cross-border transactions), Restructuring (Chapter 11, distressed M&A, out-of-court), Liability Management (consent solicitations, tender offers, exchange offers), Capital Markets Advisory (debt/equity raises, acquisition finance, IPO advisory), Wealth Management (via Cary Street Partners alliance), and Growth Capital (via Ducera Growth Ventures with Quannix AI and Hambrecht Ducera Growth Venture Partners venture fund). The firm operates across four U.S. offices and has advised on over $850 billion in transactions since founding in June 2015.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• M&A Strategic Advisory End-to-end M&A advisory services including sell-side and buy-side mandates, divestitures, carve-outs, spin-offs, cross-border transactions, takeover defense, fairness opinions, and special committee representation for corporate clients.
• Restructuring Advisory Capital structure and restructuring advisory including pre-packaged, pre-arranged, and traditional Chapter 11 proceedings, distressed M&A, out-of-court recapitalizations, expert valuation and testimony, and pension and OPEB liability advisory.
• Liability Management Advisory on liability management transactions including amendments, consent solicitations, open market repurchase programs, exchange and tender offers, and resolution of off-balance sheet obligations including litigation liability.
• Capital Markets Advisory Debt and equity capital raises, acquisition finance, structured products, and pre-IPO and IPO advisory services for clients seeking to efficiently achieve their capital objectives.
• Wealth Management Comprehensive wealth management services including research, portfolio advisory, performance reporting, investment management, financial planning, and estate and life insurance strategies, delivered through a strategic alliance with Cary Street Partners.
• Growth Capital / Ducera Growth Ventures (DGV) Growth capital advisory and direct investment practice combining investment banking expertise with the proprietary Quannix AI tool to provide insights into early-stage companies with high growth and disruption potential.
• Hambrecht Ducera Growth Venture Partners (HDGV) Co-owned venture capital fund that applies machine learning, big data, statistical computing, and proprietary data science analytics to source and invest in early-stage companies with high growth and high disruption potential.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $850 billion in advised transactions since founding
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cary Street PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance with Cary Street Partners, an independent wealth management and investment advisory firm. Ducera holds a minority investment in Cary Street Partners. The partnership provides comprehensive wealth management services including research, portfolio advisory, performance reporting, investment management, financial planning, and estate and life insurance strategies, supporting growth of Cary Street's wealth management business.
• Hambrecht Partners HoldingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic investment in Hambrecht Partners Holdings, a venture capital and advisory firm led by industry icon William Hambrecht. Specializes in deploying data science to fund and grow disruptive businesses in high-growth technology sectors. Ducera holds a minority investment in Hambrecht Partners Holdings.
• Growth SciencecoreTechnology or IntegrationGrowth Science, home of MESE computing system, provides unique insights into disruptive tendencies of public and private companies. Ducera has strategic access through its affiliations, enabling sophisticated data science capabilities for client advisory.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves16 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Centerview Partners: Elite independent advisory boutique founded in 2006 by former Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley. Closest direct peer to Ducera in terms of size, product mix (M&A, restructuring, capital markets), and independence-first positioning with conflict-free, partner-owned model.
• Moelis & Company: Global independent advisory firm founded in 2007 by former UBS head of investment banking. Directly comparable boutique with M&A, restructuring, and capital markets advisory practices and similar partner-owned economics.
• Evercore: Public independent advisory firm with strong M&A and restructuring franchises. Competes head-to-head with Ducera on independent advisory mandates and offers a broader investment management platform; one of the largest elite boutiques by revenue.
• Greenhill & Co: Independent M&A and restructuring advisory firm (acquired by Mizuho in 2023). Many Ducera founders and partners previously held senior roles at Greenhill, making it a direct predecessor platform; overlapping client base and product mix.
• PJT Partners: Public independent advisory firm spun out of Blackstone in 2015 with deep restructuring and strategic advisory practices. Directly comparable in size, founding context (independent from bulge bracket), and product mix; competing for the same independent advisory mandates.
• Perella Weinberg Partners: Independent advisory firm founded in 2006 by former heads of UBS and Morgan Stanley investment banking. Multiple Ducera partners (Kramer, Davis, Kaldenberg, Scherer, Slonecker, Tang, Meyer) previously held Partner roles at Perella Weinberg, making it a direct predecessor platform with overlapping product set.

Broad incumbents

• Rothschild & Co: Global independent advisory firm with strong European restructuring and family-office M&A franchises. Competes for cross-border advisory mandates and has a more internationally diversified footprint than Ducera.
• Lazard: Global financial advisory and asset management firm with deep M&A and restructuring practices. Competes for large strategic advisory mandates; multiple Ducera senior bankers (Meyer, Silverman, Hatfield) previously at Lazard.
• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with the leading restructuring practice and strong M&A advisory. Several Ducera partners (Kramer, Robins, Scherer, Slonecker, Tang, Hatfield, Meyer) previously worked at Houlihan Lokey; broader scale but overlapping product set, particularly in restructuring.
• Jefferies Financial Group: Full-service investment bank with capital markets and advisory practices. Competes for mid-to-large advisory mandates and provides equity capital markets capabilities that complement Ducera's capital markets advisory offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ducera Partners