RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. yesterday announced an agreement to purchase the assets of First Institutional Services, a New Jersey-based private investment bank that serves institutional and high-net-worth individuals.
The acquisition is set to close in early 2003. Further details were not provided.
Dallas-based RBC wants to acquire First Institutional Services to bolster its presence in the New York metro, RBC Dain Rauscher spokesman Dan Callahan said. The appeal of First Institutional Securities' fixed-income business, and to a lesser degree its retail business, motivated the acquisition, Callahan said.
"First Institutional is an ideal fit for our wealth-management platform," Peter Armenio, president and chief executive officer of RBC Dain Rauscher, said in a prepared statement. "The firm has proven product knowledge and established relationships in sectors of our business that are very important to us."
RBC expects to hire all 90 of First Institutional's fixed-income and retail financial consultants and the support staff. First Institutional serves over 600 institutional and 4,000 high-net-worth retail clients.
Stanley Goldberg, CEO of First Institutional, said his firm agreed to the acquisition because it is a "perfect fit" and because RBC Dain Rauscher will "supply us with the tools we need to grow this office further." He will be named a managing director within RBC's private client group and will oversee operations of the West Paterson, N.J., office.
George Liss, First Institutional's president, will also be named managing director and Bert Gore, chief operating officer and managing director of financial institutions for RBC, will be responsible for growing RBC's business with depositary institutions.
Neither Liss nor Gore could be reached for comment yesterday.
The acquisition is in line with Dain Rauscher's strategy of acquiring companies that extend its geographical presence and enhance the bottom line, Callahan said. Dain Rauscher inherited a strong fixed-income presence in the Northeast, including Pennsylvania and Massachusetts when it acquired Tucker Anthony Sutro in 2001. Prior to that, RBC's key markets were located further West, such as Denver, Dallas, Seattle and Minneapolis.
"We are always looking for opportunities that can add to our base, but we are not out there trying to buy just to get market share," Callahan said.
RBC Dain Rauscher is ranked ninth among senior managers in the municipal debt market, according to Thomson Financial Securities Data.
