Nath replaces Devinjit Singh who resigned earlier this month to move to the buy-side, joining CarlyleÆs buyout team in India.
Nath is currently a director with Citi in New York. In his new role, he will report to Pramit Jhaveri, head of global banking for India and to Steve Wallace, head of M&A for Asia-Pacific. Nath joined Salomon Smith Barney in New York in 2001 from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu where he was a consultant.
Nath has spent six years in technology investment banking, covering US and Indian clients, Citi said in an internal memo announcing the move, adding that he has executed more than 40 M&A, leveraged finance and equity transactions primarily in the information technology services and business process outsourcing sectors. Nath has some experience working on India deals and was a team member on two recent cross-border M&A transactions that Citi India advised on: Wipro's acquisition of Infocrossing and KKR's leveraged buyout of Flextronics' software solutions business.
Citi India investment banking has built a strong position in the cross-border outbound M&A advisory arena due in part to its willingness to put its balance sheet to work for its clients. Citi was an advisor, alongwith JPMorgan, on Tata Motors' $2.3 billion acquisition of Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover brands, the largest outbound India deal to be announced this year.
For a number of bankers in subprime-affected markets, moving to Asia is a good option in the uncertain environment. It has become clear that Asia is not immune to subprime woes and investment banks are making some headcount reductions in the region, alongside announced downsizing in other worse hit markets. But it is also a fact that jobs here are being affected less than elsewhere as the outlook for Asia is still quite optimistic.
Further, for many firms, deal pipelines in Asia remain strong in contrast to other markets where tighter credit markets and reduced confidence have adversely affected deal flow. In India, for example, depressed valuations in some target markets in the US and Europe, coupled with enhanced confidence among Indian buyers after watching a number of cross-border forays by Indian companies, has increased the number of buyers looking at targets. Thus, bankers who move east are moving to a more secure job environment and adding Asia transaction experience to their CVs.
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