Greenhill was established in New York City in 1996 by Robert F. Greenhill, the former president of Morgan Stanley and former chairman and chief executive officer of Smith Barney. He founded the first M&A group on Wall Street while at Morgan Stanley and became an early pioneer of the industry.Greenhill has been featured in many prominent assignments since its founding including the $100 billion acquisition of ABN AMRO in 2007, the United States Department of Treasury's divestiture of its $51 billion stake in AIG in 2012, and the $17 billion merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines in 2008. The firm was also involved as an adviser to a highly influential group of former Morgan Stanley partners in their successful and controversial bid to have former Morgan Stanley CEO Philip J. Purcell step down in 2005.Like a number of other independent investment banks, Greenhill has grown by recruiting a significant number of managing directors from major investment banks . The firm has also expanded globally, opening further offices and operations in North America, Europe, Australasia, Asia, South America and the Middle East, most recently in Tel Aviv and in Singapore.In May 2004, the firm completed an initial public offering of common stock onto the New York Stock Exchange.
