Lazard finds opportunities in this market

The credit crunch should be bad news for investment banks, right? Not necessarily. After all, strategic buyers have been aggressive lately, perhaps because there's not much competition from private equity operators.

One of the beneficiaries is Lazard (NYSE: LAZ), which reported its Q2 numbers. Eearnings came to $64.6 million, or 54 cents per share, which compares to $61.5 million, or 53 cents per share in the same period a year ago.

Simply put, Lazard has been snagging some choice client engagements. For example, Q2's revenues on merger assignments spiked 37% to $225.1 million.

In fact, the firm is an advisor on InBev's $52 billion deal to purchase Anheuser-Busch Cos. (NYSE: BUD). Another high-profile assignment is Gaz de France's 44.6 billion euro deal with Suez.

Keep in mind that Lazard has worked on about $100 billion in announced deals in July alone. This is certainly a nice momentum boost.

Besides, Lazard has a strong restructuring division. While the business is still fairly small – at $32.7 million – there should be lots of potential for growth. Just look at some of the major bankruptcies lately, such as Mervyn's, Steve & Barry's, Linen 'n Things and so on.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.