Goldman Sachs appoints three co-heads of Asia M&A to bolster regional presence

By Kane Wu

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs has appointed Raghav Maliah, Yoshihiko Yano and Ed Wittig as co-heads of mergers and acquisitions in Asia Pacific to expand and deepen deals coverage in the region, according to an internal memo on Tuesday seen by Reuters.

Wittig is joining the bank's Asia team later this year from New York, where he is currently global head of Industrials M&A and Aerospace and Defense, the memo said.

Maliah, based in Hong Kong, is the bank's global vice chairman of Investment Banking and head of the technology, media and telecom group in Asia ex-Japan. Maliah has also been heading the bank's M&A business in Asia ex-Japan.

Yano is Goldman's co-head of Investment Banking and head of M&A in Japan.

The three will bring important focus to financial sponsor M&A business and help the bank expand its coverage of cross-border transactions, the memo said.

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs confirmed the content of the memo.

Yano is the longest serving banker of the three, having joined Goldman Sachs in 1998.

Maliah and Wittig have been with the bank for 24 and 23 years respectively.

(Reporting by Kane Wu, Editing by Louise Heavens)