Stifel Financial Corp. (SF – Free Report) entered a definitive agreement to acquire Bryan, Garnier & Co. (“Bryan Garnier”) — a prominent independent full-service investment bank committed to European technology and healthcare companies. The terms of the deal were kept under wraps.
Bryan Garnier, founded in 1996, offers merger and acquisition advice services, private and public growth funding solutions, and institutional sales and execution. Bryan Garnier, based in Paris, employs more than 200 people, including 33 managing directors, and has offices in London, Amsterdam, Munich, Oslo, Stockholm and New York.
Stifel’s Rationale Behind Bryan Garnier Buyout
The acquisition of Bryan Garnier will mark a strategic move in the progress of Stifel’s global advisory business. Ronald J. Kruszewski, Stifel’s chairman and CEO, stated, “As a leading European middle market investment bank in the healthcare and technology verticals, Bryan Garnier represents an ideal partner.”
“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,” Kruszewski added.
Through the integration of Stifel’s capabilities in consulting, private and public markets, and equity and debt solutions, Stifel and Bryan Garnier will provide customers, employees and the European market at large with unparalleled opportunities.
Stifel’s Prior Efforts to Grow Inorganically
Over the past few years, Stifel has been expanding inorganically through opportunistic expansions.
In September 2024, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Stifel is in discussion with B. Riley Financial to acquire its wealth management business for more than $100 million. This potential buyout aligns with Stifel’s CEO Ron Kruszewski’s strategy of making opportunistic acquisitions, which has been a key factor in the firm’s growth and expansion in the wealth management space.
In 2024, Stifel completed the acquisition of community bank-focused sister companies CB Resource and Finance 500. The deal enhanced and deepened SF’s certificates of deposit (CD) funding offerings with market-leading CD underwriting, tech-enabled risk management and planning capabilities. This aligns with Stifel’s efforts to expand its deposit base, which is the primary funding source, through expansion and its existing private client network.
Such buyouts position SF to enhance its capabilities and diversify business operations.
SF’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank
Over the past six months, shares of Stifel have gained 34.8% compared with the industry’s growth of 20.7%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, SF carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Similar Steps by Other Finance Firms
In December 2024, Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (BHLB – Free Report) agreed to acquire Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (BRKL – Free Report) and its subsidiary, Brookline Bank. The all-stock transaction has been valued at $1.14 billion. The deal is expected to be closed by Sept. 30, 2025, subject to requisite regulatory approvals and shareholders’ approvals of both entities.
Per the agreement, BHLB will pay 0.42 shares of its common stock for each share of BRKL. In conjunction with the deal, Berkshire will issue $100 million of its common stock at $29 per share. The capital raise is anticipated to be completed on Dec. 19, 2024.
The same month, SEI Investments Co. (SEIC – Free Report) acquired a Boston-based, tax-smart technology provider — LifeYield. This acquisition will enable SEIC to provide cost-effective, automated and real-time unified managed household capabilities in a fully bundled overlay solution. This approach will allow advisors to look across all account registrations and optimize clients’ after-tax returns.
The acquisition is not deemed significant in terms of asset size or material impacts on the company operations or financial performance, rathar it builds upon a collaboration established in 2022 between SEIC and LifeYield.
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