Morgan Keegan Aquires Shattuck

Tennessee-based Morgan Keegan & Co., the 11th busiest underwriter of municipal bonds last year, announced yesterday it has closed on its purchase of Shattuck Hammond Partners LLC. The firms first announced the deal May 3. The acquired business will keep the name Shattuck Hammond Partners, but will operate as a division of Morgan Keegan, according to a statement from Morgan Keegan. Michael Hammond, a principal and board member at Shattuck Hammond, will remain in charge of business operations for the division. Morgan Keegan’s president and chief executive, G. Douglas Edwards, said in the statement that buying Shattuck Hammond underscores his firm’s commitment to health care banking and expanding in the sector. All 13 principals of Shattuck Hammond will join Morgan Keegan as managing directors, the company said. New York-based Shattuck Hammond is known for its presence in the health care sector and last year helped put together the municipal market’s first deal structured like a collateralized debt obligation. About 40% of that deal was made up of health care credits, according to Fitch Ratings. Morgan Keegan was the 17th busiest underwriter of health care bonds last year, managing $542.2 million worth, according to Thomson Financial.