New York & Sao Paulo, Brazil--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2004--Lazard and Signatura Advisory today announced they have formed Signatura Lazard, a 50-50 joint venture to provide local and cross-border financial advisory services in Brazil.

Located in Sao Paulo, the new firm will provide M&A, corporate and financial restructuring, capital markets and corporate finance services to a diversified client base that includes companies with investment or interests in Brazil.

"While Lazard has advised on cross-border activities in Brazil, we're pleased to now have an on-the-ground presence with top-flight local advisors," said Lazard President Charles Ward. "Signatura Lazard will allow us to provide high-quality advisory services to Brazilian companies and to non-Brazilians looking to take advantage of the ample investment opportunities that exist in this market."

Signatura founders, Marcelo Lyrio and Jean Pierre Zarouk, added: "Signatura Lazard was created based on a shared vision of how to best serve clients: with independence, execution capability and long-term commitment. This union comes at a time in which critical financial transformations are taking place in Brazil, creating great opportunities for our clients here and abroad."

Signatura's Lyrio and Zarouk, former executives of ING in Brazil, have advised on some of the nation's most important transactions.

Among the prominent Brazilian deals in which Lazard has participated as an adviser are: the merger of AmBev and Interbrew, the acquisition of Quilmes by AmBev, the sale of Banca Intesa's stake in Banco Sudameris Brazil, the restructuring of AES Sul and Electropaulo Metropolitana for AES Corp., and MCI's sale of its stake in Embratel.

Lazard, the world's pre-eminent advisory investment bank, has offices in 15 countries around the globe. With origins dating back to 1848, the firm provides international financial advisory services and global transaction execution to corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments, and individuals. Lazard provides services including mergers and acquisitions, asset management, restructurings, capital markets execution, real estate investment banking, and alternative investment management.