Kroll Launches Equity Capital Markets Advisory with David Galper to Drive IPO Strategy

Kroll’s acquisition of Locust Hill Advisors and the establishment of a dedicated Equity Capital Markets Advisory (ECMA) practice underlines a strategic expansion of its investment banking capabilities. The firm is positioning itself to capture renewed IPO market activity and serve a specific client segment (sponsor-backed firms and family-held companies) that may have been underserved during periods of low public-market confidence.

David Galper’s track record—over 25 years across major banks and the execution of 100+ equity and leveraged finance transactions—provides immediate authority and credibility for the new practice [3]. His experience suggests Kroll is serious about originations in more complex deal types beyond standard IPOs, including convertibles, block trades, and multi-track issuings [1].

Macroeconomic context is supportive. Data from H1 and Q3 2025 show rising IPO volumes and proceeds in the U.S., driven particularly by tech growth, SPACs, and large deals. For example, U.S. IPO equity issuance in Q2 2025 rose ~34% from Q1, and aggregate U.S. issuance in H1 2025 was ~$26.25 billion across 168 IPOs including SPACs, more than double some past near-years [4][5]. The qualitative shift toward higher dollar-value IPOs (many exceeding $1 billion) and stronger post-IPO performance creates opportunity for advisory firms that can deliver not just issuance, but post-listing strength and structure [4][6].

However, headwinds remain. Volatility (geopolitical and economic), interest rate uncertainty, and regulatory pressures could constrain some deal flow. Small-cap IPOs have underperformed in many cases, bringing attention to the risks involved in lower-revenue, less proven firms [5][4]. Therefore, Kroll’s focus on sponsor-backed and family-owned businesses—which often have more stable revenue or private capital backing—seems prudent.

Strategic implications for Kroll include: enhanced ability to compete in high-margin IPO advisory segments; possibility to deepen synergies with existing services (valuation, fairness opinions, due diligence) to provide an integrated offering; leveraging cross border capital flows as global IPO trends suggest foreign companies continue listing in the U.S.; and the risk of needing to scale talent, regulatory, and execution capacity quickly to handle larger, more complex deals.

Open questions: How severe will regulatory reforms become in IPOs and SPACs, especially regarding disclosure, valuation, and insider lockups? Will interest rate and inflation trends allow for sustained investor risk appetite into 2026? Can Kroll differentiate itself meaningfully in a crowded advisory market dominated by large banks—both in quality of deal flow and execution? Finally, how will Kroll mitigate execution risk and manage capacity given current deal-size trends and urgency from issuers?