PlainsCapital Corp., holding company of PlainsCapital Bank, completed its acquisition of First Southwest Holdings Inc., the holding company of Dallas-based financial advisory and investment bank First Southwest Co., in a stock-for-stock merger last week.
The deal combines Texas’ second-largest privately held commercial bank and the nation’s third-ranked public finance advisory firm with assets of $4 billion. The deal comes after PlainsCapital was awarded $87 million of federal funds under the Troubled Assets Recovery Program.
The transaction also gives PlainsCapital Bank a national platform for future growth, officials said. For First Southwest, the merger provides the shelter of a commercial bank in a time of uncertainty for investment banks.
The deal was announced Nov. 11 and closed, as expected, at the end of the year.
“It will be business as usual for both our employees and clients,” said Hill A. Feinberg, who will remain as chairman and chief executive officer of First Southwest.
First Southwest employs 368 people and operates 22 offices in 10 states and the District of Columbia.
