Stifel snags Thomas Weisel in $300M merger

Stifel Financial Corp. and Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc. said last week that they have reached a definitive agreement to merge operations in an all-stock transaction valued at more than $300 million. Thomas Weisel Partners, an investment bank based in San Francisco, will be merged into a subsidiary of Stifel and become a wholly owned subsidiary of the St. Louis-based financial services holding company. The deal calls for each share of Thomas Weisel to be exchanged for 0.1364 shares of Stifel Financial common stock. The transaction, which is subject to approval by Weisel shareholders and regulators, is expected to close on or about June 30. The merger marks the second deal for Stifel in the past few weeks. On April 16, the publicly traded company — and parent of broker-dealer Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. — acquired investment advisory firm Missouri Valley Partners from First Banks Inc. The estimated annual revenue of a combined Stifel/Weisel will be about $1.6 billion. The merged companies will have a pro-forma market capitalization of about $2 billion. “With the merger, Stifel’s revenue mix remains balanced between its institutional group and global wealth management segments,” Ronald J. Kruszewski, chairman and chief executive of Stifel Financial, said in a statement. Thomas Weisel does offer brokerage, advisory and cash management services to high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients. But the company is best known for its midmarket investment-banking operation. “Our platform adds key growth sectors to Stifel’s investment- banking business, particularly in technology, health care and energy,” Thomas W. Weisel, chairman and chief executive of Thomas Weisel Partners, said in a statement. “Stifel has one of the largest global wealth management groups, with nearly $100 billion in client assets, which is a great complement to the combined investment bank.” Although Mr. Kruszewski and Mr. Weisel will be co-chairmen following the merger, Mr. Kruszewski will remain president and chief executive of Stifel Financial. E-mail John Goff at [email protected].