M&A dealmaker recruitment agency and headhunters
your next M&A dealmaker, in good hands.
We combine our data, our sector experts and our AI algorithms to identify the headhunter most relevant to your role, from analyst to senior dealmaker.
- no setup fees, pay on hire
- guaranteed replacement
they hire their finance profiles with muzzo
how do you hire an M&A dealmaker through a recruitment agency?
A good M&A dealmaker holds a model together under pressure. Muzzo gives your role, from analyst to senior, to the headhunters who place the most people in this field: they check the deals led and the rigour of the model. Fee of 5 to 30%, paid on hire. Leaves within 3 months: we restart the search free.
how it works
you only pay if you hire
01
you describe the role
Using the form above: the role, your company, the scope. The rest is scoped in your first conversation with the Muzzo team.
02
our data chooses the headhunters
Our AI picks those who have hired the most in M&A, from more than 2,500 selected headhunters.
03
you meet the best profiles
Approached and qualified by headhunters who are transaction finance experts. You choose who you meet.
04
you hire, then you pay
Not before. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, we restart the search at no cost.
they hired with muzzo
Muzzo's strength is the diversity of its recruiters: there is always someone listening to our needs.
With Muzzo, I get the reactivity of a marketplace and the quality of a search firm.
let's talk about your role
Antoine and the Muzzo team help you scope your role and choose the right headhunters. Describe your role in the form: we'll call you back to discuss it.
Antoine GigomasCEO and co-founder of Muzzo
one last question?
With Muzzo, you set the fee, between 5 and 30%, and you only pay it on hire: no deposit, no fixed fees. A junior analyst and a senior dealmaker who negotiates alone against the buyer don't take the same search. The fee follows that difficulty, and the Muzzo team helps you set it.
You have a double guarantee. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, for example because their real role on deals doesn't match the brief, we restart the search at no cost. If we find no replacement within 4 months, we refund 50% of the fees. On average, 94% of Muzzo hires are still in post after 3 months.
transaction finance headhunters are ready to start
A hire signed in under 26 days. You only pay when you hire.
the reality
an M&A dealmaker is judged by the deal they see through to the end
a good M&A analyst is on a deal, not reading job ads
They're closing a raise, a sale or a buyout at an investment bank, a boutique or in corporate development. They aren't looking for a job. A transaction finance headhunter knows when and how to approach them.
a well-built spreadsheet model doesn't make a dealmaker
The role means defending a valuation in front of an investment committee or a buyer. The headhunter tests that conversation, not just how fast someone can build a model.
a poorly run deal shows up in the data room
Rushed due diligence, assumptions that don't hold, a timeline that slips. The headhunter checks the deals actually closed, not just the ones mentioned at interview.
the roles
the M&A profiles our headhunters go after for you
From analyst to senior dealmaker, each search goes to a headhunter who has already hired that profile.
M&A analyst
They build the valuation models, prepare the information memoranda and check the data room. A first role, often after a business or engineering school.
M&A associate
They run part of the deal, coordinate due diligence with lawyers and auditors, and start facing the client directly.
M&A dealmaker
They run the deal end to end: origination, negotiation, closing. The most requested role among boutiques and corporate development teams.
senior M&A dealmaker
They carry several deals, lead a team of analysts and weigh in on the final negotiation with the buyer or investor.
group M&A development manager
On the corporate development side, they identify targets, run acquisitions and follow the integration after closing.
the method
a transaction finance headhunter, not an agency that does everything
An M&A deal is judged by its closing. So the method starts from the type of deal the role has to run.
we scope the deal and the level
Investment bank, boutique or corporate development, sale, raise or buyout, analyst to senior level: the brief describes the deals the role will have to run.
a headhunter who places M&A profiles
From more than 2,500 selected headhunters, your role goes to those who place the most people in transaction finance.
modelling and due diligence tested before the interview
The headhunter asks the profile to detail a deal they actually closed: the structure, the model's assumptions, what nearly made the deal fail. Then they cross-check with references.
the figures
hiring an M&A dealmaker in figures
€53k
median gross annual pay for banking operations and financial markets managers under 35 (80% between €39k and €71k), €67k over 451
€66k
median pay in the Paris region (80% between €44k and €101k), against €53k in the rest of France1
19
public tender offers (takeover and exchange bids) opened on French financial markets in 2025, a proxy for the volume of M&A deals among listed companies2
hiring an M&A dealmaker: what you need to know
The M&A dealmaker runs a deal under calendar pressure: origination, valuation, negotiation, closing. Good profiles are in post, busy with a live deal, and don't answer job ads.
A transaction finance headhunter knows how to approach them and asks the right questions: which deals they ran, what type of transactions, what their real role was in the negotiation. This page covers the M&A role itself; for finance leadership, see our CFO page, and for managing portfolio holdings in a fund, see our investment manager page.
An analyst builds the models and prepares the memoranda. An associate runs part of the deal and coordinates due diligence. A senior dealmaker runs several deals and negotiates directly with the buyer or investor.
That choice sets the budget for the role. According to Apec, the median for banking operations and financial markets managers rises from €53k under 35 to €67k over 45. Decide the level in the brief before talking salary, not the other way round.
At an investment bank, deal volume is high and teams are large: the role trains people fast, but turnover is high. At an M&A boutique, the team is small and the dealmaker does a bit of everything, from origination to closing. In corporate development, the pace is slower, but the profile follows the integration after the acquisition, something a bank never does.
According to Apec, managers in this role within consulting and business management earn a median of €60k, the same as in banking and insurance: pay level alone, then, doesn't tell you what type of firm to look for the profile in.
The CV lists deals and amounts. The interview has to show something else: the ability to defend a valuation assumption in front of someone who challenges it, and to hold a tight closing timeline.
A short case study works well: a simplified model, an assumption to challenge, ten minutes to argue the case. The headhunter does this first screen before introducing anyone, and checks with references the deals the profile says they ran.
The role stays concentrated in the Paris region, home to most investment banks and M&A boutiques. According to Apec, the median there reaches €66k gross a year, against €53k in the rest of France, a wider gap than for many finance roles.
A search outside Paris is still possible for a corporate development role attached to a head office outside the capital, but the pool of experienced profiles there is smaller.
your questions about hiring an M&A dealmaker
According to Apec, banking operations and financial markets managers under 35 earn a median of €53k gross a year, with 80% between €39k and €71k (2025 edition). The median reaches €67k over 45. These amounts include variable pay.
Yes, clearly. According to Apec, the median for banking operations and financial markets managers is €66k gross a year in the Paris region, against €53k in the rest of France (2025 edition). The gap reflects how concentrated investment banks and M&A boutiques are in Paris.
The M&A dealmaker advises on a sale, a raise or an acquisition on behalf of a client, then moves to the next deal. The investment manager stays in the fund after the deal: they follow the holding on the board and prepare the exit. For the second profile, see our investment manager page.
No connection between the two roles despite the similar title. A construction or industrial account manager runs a project or a technical job for an end client. The M&A dealmaker advises on mergers and acquisitions in transaction finance. For the first role, see our account manager page.
With a real case rather than a list of deals. Ask them to defend a valuation assumption that you challenge, and to describe a closing that nearly fell through. Our headhunters run this first test and check the deals mentioned with references.
by Antoine Gigomas, CEO and co-founder of Muzzo ·
