William Blair Moves into Ohio

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CHICAGO – Still in expansion mode, Chicago-based investment bank William Blair is moving into Ohio, hiring of a team of veteran public finance bankers from Fifth Third Securities.

The group is led by Andrew Brossart, who joins William Blair as a managing director after 10 years at Fifth Third.

The other professionals who came over with Brossart last month are David Tiggett, a director, Heather Arling, a vice president, and Laura Hennessey, an analyst.

Tiggett will work in the firm's new Columbus office and Brossart and the other two will work in the firm's new Cincinnati office.

"Andy, David, Heather, and Laura are highly respected public finance bankers in Ohio, consistently leading transactions for a diverse clientele across the state," said William Blair's head of public finance, Ajay Thomas.

Other recent William Blair banking hires in existing offices are John Healey in Hartford, Connecticut; Justin Rodriguez in San Antonio; and Liberty Ziegahn in Chicago. All are vice presidents.

"Adding John, Justin, and Liberty… elevates our ability to serve more municipal clients across sectors in those regions of the country," Thomas said.

The recent hires bring the firm's public finance staff to 31.

The firm targeted the Ohio market as part of its evolution from a regional base and platform to a national one with an eye on key markets with attractive volume levels and good growth prospects.

"It's getting the right bankers to be able to compete," Thomas said. The firm hunts for experienced bankers that bring solid relationships and a reputation with them.

"We look forward to offering clients optimal execution on transactions by leveraging William Blair's expanded resource base, commitment to pricing transparency, and client-centered service," Brossart said of the move to the independent, employee-owned firm.

"We wish Andy and his associates well, and are pleased to say that we have already hired two highly experienced bankers in the Ohio market with the addition of Brian Seedhouse and Tim Reidy," said John Rowlander, senior managing director in municipal finance at Fifth Third Capital Markets. "Fifth Third Securities, Inc. remains committed to continued expansion of our public finance business throughout the bank's footprint, and has been a key component of our fixed income growth strategy that was implemented over a year ago."

William Blair's growth spurt has showed up in the firm's rankings.

The firm moved up to 25th nationally among senior managers in the league tables last year, from 34th a year earlier. It was credited by Thomson Reuters with leading 104 deals with a par value of $2.5 billion, more than double the value of 68 deals it led that were valued at $926.7 million in 2014.

The firm's public finance expansion is being led by Thomas, whose Texas-based group jumped to William Blair from Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. in the fall of 2014.

The firm also moved into the Michigan market that year, opening an office in Detroit, after earlier in the year opening a Los Angeles office with veterans from the former De La Rosa & Co. led by Christopher Tota.

The firm now has 11 public finance offices: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Hartford, New York City, Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Francisco, and the new Ohio offices.

The firm's goal is to carve out a niche with middle-market deals valued at under $300 million while also selectively going after the larger ones.

"We definitely have the resources and capital to compete for those deals but that's not necessarily our daily focus. Our goal is to do as much of the middle market transactional work that we can," Thomas said.

Public education is a key sector for the firm, which also focuses on non-rated issues, high yield, community colleges and local governments.

Thomas adds the firm is looking to make a competitive stand in its markets but is not obsessed with the league tables.

"I'm not really trying to be number one through five," he said. "Our dual goal is to be relevant and maintain profitability."

The firm has made inroads in several of its newer markets including Michigan and Texas where it's cracked the top five among underwriters in the K-12 school sector.

The firm worked as a co- or senior manager on 75 deals in Texas last year, up from zero a year before, and 18 in Michigan.

The firm has been slower to make inroads in the well-saturated California market. Thomas said the firm had four senior-managed deals there last year and a handful is on the calendar.

The expansion has bolstered the firm's overall co- and senior-manager book of business from a total of 89 deals totaling $9.9 billion in 2014 to 151 totaling $14.7 billion in 2015 and the goal is to hit 250 this year with 67 already done or on the calendar, according to data provided by the firm from IPREO Muni Analytics.

"I feel pretty good about the trajectory we are on," Thomas said.

Thomas says the firm has its eye on extending its New England business beyond Connecticut, where it has a solid, established base. Mid-Atlantic states and Arizona and Louisiana are also on the firm's radar.

Beyond geography, the firm would like to hire more sector specialists in the areas of higher education, surface transportation, and public power.

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