Stifel sharpens focus on healthcare, tech deals with strategic acquisition

Stifel, the financial giant whose sprawling platform includes a broker-dealer arm and an international invesment banking business, is looking to further solidify its presence in the mid-market investment space.

Under a definitive agreement announced Monday, Stifel Financial said it plans to acquire Bryan, Garnier & Co., a nearly three decade-old independent European investment bank specializing in healthcare and technology companies.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Established in 1996, Bryan, Garnier & Co. provides services including mergers and acquisitions advisory, growth financing solutions, and institutional sales. The firm boasts a considerable operational footprint with a team of about 200 professionals, including 33 managing directors, and offices in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Munich, Oslo, Stockholm, and New York.

Ronald J. Kruszewski, Stifel's chairman and CEO, touted the combination as "a logical next step in the evolution of Stifel’s global advisory business.”

“As a leading European middle market investment bank in the healthcare and technology verticals, Bryan Garnier represents an ideal partner,” Kruszewski said in a statement Monday. "Its culture and long-term history of providing clients with high quality advice in two of our largest investment banking growth verticals is highly complementary with Stifel’s business."

Olivier Garnier, co-founder and managing partner of Bryan Garnier, was similarly upbeat about the planned union with Stifel.

"By integrating Stifel’s capabilities across advisory, private and public markets, and equity and debt solutions, Stifel and Bryan Garnier are offering unparalleled opportunities for clients, employees, and the European market as a whole," he said.

While it's unclear at this point when exactly the deal will come to fruition, it would definitely mark another significant milestone in Stifel's years-long history of growth through acquisitons and organic expansion. Most recently in November, it was confirmed that B. Riley, the embattled broker-dealer whose ties with Brian Kahn and Franchise Group has put it under pressure from shareholders and regulators alike, would sell part of its employee wealth management arm to Stifel for $27 million to $35 million in cash.

Currently, Stifel operates nearly 400 offices across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and as of September 30 was on pace to surpass $4.8 billion in net revenue in 2024.