2 Boutique Financial Firms To Make Millions Advising On Lions Gate-Starz Deal

Some of the players that assisted on the $4.4 billion buyout of Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA) by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (NYSE: LGF) announced are names you'd expect - JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) and Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) to name a few - but among the big names were two tiny financial firms, each launched by former employees of big investment banks.

LionTree Advisors and PJT Partners are expected to earn a combined $35 to $45 million in advisory fees. LionTree is the sole advisor to Starz, and PJT was the lead financial adviser to Lionsgate.

LionTree was created in 2012 by a former UBS Group AG (NYSE: UBS) banker, while PJT is the offspring of a combination of an advisory firm launched by a former Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) dealmaker and The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX)'s strategic advisory business.