Sonenshine Partners

What Sonenshine Partners does

Sonenshine Partners is a privately-held boutique investment bank founded in 2000 by Marshall Sonenshine, headquartered at 505 Park Avenue in New York. The firm provides integrated strategic and financial advisory services across three core practice areas: mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and corporate restructuring. It serves a client base ranging from middle-market companies to Fortune 100 corporations across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, with disclosed advisory mandates spanning clients such as Disney, Walgreens, Siemens, Alcoa, Sony/Columbia Pictures, drugstore.com, and Abaqus. The firm also operates a wholly-owned FINRA/SIPC-registered broker-dealer subsidiary, Sonenshine & Company.

The firm's go-to-market relies on a senior dealmaker model, with each senior banker reportedly bringing 30+ years of investment banking experience from major Wall Street institutions including Deutsche Bank, Wolfensohn & Company, Salomon Brothers, Bankers Trust, UBS, Merrill Lynch, and Jefferies. The firm's revenue model is purely transaction-fee based, with advisory fees negotiated on a per-deal basis. Distribution is enabled through direct senior-level engagement with boards and CEOs, supplemented by the firm's role as the sole US partner to Advior International, a consortium of leading investment banks providing affiliate coverage across Europe and Asia. A formal JV with The Fulford Group created Sonenshine Fulford Group in July 2017 to anchor London and cross-border healthcare M&A capability.

The firm is owner-managed by its senior bankers with no external private equity or institutional investor backing, and it cites this unconflicted structure as a competitive differentiator. There is no proprietary technology platform, AI/ML capability, or software product; the value proposition rests entirely on senior banker relationships, sector expertise across Technology/Media, Healthcare, Industrials, Consumer, and Energy/Financial Services verticals, and global deal-flow access through the Advior network. Named "Boutique Bank of the Year" by M&A Advisor, the firm maintains an Insights blog and thought leadership content as supplementary marketing channels alongside professional referrals.

Name

Sonenshine Partners

Legal name

Sonenshine Partners

Website

https://sonenshinepartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking Advisory

NAICS

Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG)

Keywords

• Investment banking advisory
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Corporate finance advisory
• Restructuring advisory
• Strategic financial advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory Fees: The firm generates revenue by advising on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and restructuring transactions for major corporations. Revenue is derived from advisory fees on completed deals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sonenshine Partners is a boutique investment bank that advises companies on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and restructuring transactions. The firm provides integrated strategic and financial advisory services to middle-market and Fortune 100 companies across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions, leveraging a global network of affiliates under Advior International.

Product overview

Sonenshine Partners is a private investment bank providing advisory services across mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and restructurings. The firm does not offer a unified software product or platform; rather, it delivers financial advisory services through its team of senior investment bankers. The firm operates through two primary offices (New York and London) under the Sonenshine Fulford Group brand for its London operations, and maintains a wholly-owned broker-dealer Sonenshine & Company registered with FINRA and SIPC. The firm serves clients ranging from middle market to Fortune 100 companies across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory
• Corporate Finance
• Restructuring Services
• Sonenshine & Company (Broker-Dealer)

Quantifiable outcome

• Highest price paid for a US newspaper during the 2009-2012 industry distress period: $139M for Philadelphia Media Holdings
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Advior InternationalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Sonenshine Partners is the sole US partner to Advior International, the premier consortium of leading investment banks across Europe and Asia. Member affiliates include DZ Bank (Germany), Raiffeisen Bank (Switzerland), Rembrandt Bank (Netherlands), Smith Square Partners (London), Wagram (France), AZ Capital (Spain), Colombo (Italy), Nuvama (India), SDM (Belgium), Sisu (Finland), Atrium (Denmark), and Alpha (Norway). This partnership enables global deal flow and cross-border transaction execution for clients in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.
• Crosspoint AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrosspoint Advisors is a longstanding Asian affiliate of Sonenshine Partners based in Tokyo, Japan, led by Akio Katsuragi, former Head of Japan Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. The partnership extends coverage into the Japanese market.
• The Fulford GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Fulford Group, founded in 2015 by Wilder Fulford, formed Sonenshine Fulford Group — a co-advisory relationship combining The Fulford Group's expertise in Pharma, Medical Device and MedTech sectors with Sonenshine Partners' expertise in Medical Devices, Consumer Health & Wellness, Health Retail, and Specialty Health Services (Optical, Audiology, Dermatology).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Evercore: Leading independent investment banking advisory firm focused on M&A, restructuring, and capital markets advisory for corporations and institutional investors — a closely comparable elite boutique to Sonenshine Partners.
• Houlihan Lokey: Global independent investment bank with deep M&A and restructuring expertise, serving middle-market to large-cap clients across multiple sectors — a closely comparable advisory boutique.
• Perella Weinberg Partners: Independent advisory and asset management firm founded by senior bankers from top Wall Street institutions, providing M&A and corporate advisory services — a directly comparable elite boutique.
• Moelis & Company: Global independent investment bank providing M&A, restructuring, and capital markets advisory to corporations, governments, and financial sponsors — a direct boutique competitor.
• Allen & Company: Privately held boutique investment bank focused on M&A and strategic advisory for media, technology, and consumer companies — a closely comparable elite private boutique.
• PJT Partners: Independent advisory-focused investment bank with strength in M&A, restructuring, and strategic advisory for large corporations, founded by former Morgan Stanley senior bankers.
• Robert W. Baird: Employee-owned investment bank with strong M&A advisory practice serving middle-market and select large-cap clients, particularly in industrials, healthcare, and consumer sectors.
• Centerview Partners: Elite independent advisory firm founded by former senior partners of top Wall Street banks, providing M&A and strategic advice to large-cap clients — directly comparable boutique model to Sonenshine Partners.

Broad incumbents

• Jefferies: Full-service global investment banking and capital markets firm with significant M&A advisory practice, recruiting many alumni from the same bulge-bracket institutions as Sonenshine Partners.
• Lazard: Global independent investment bank with a large M&A advisory franchise serving middle-market to Fortune 100 clients, the most direct large-scale competitor to boutique advisory firms like Sonenshine Partners.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sonenshine-partners

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Sonenshine Partners