Stifel Nicolaus Europe (Stifel Europe), a subsidiary of Stifel Financial, has agreed to merge with MainFirst, a Germany-based investment bank.
Image: Stifel global headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Photo: courtesy of Whartonmba/Wikipedia.org.
As a consequence, Stifel Europe is acquiring MainFirst Bank AG, MainFirst Schweiz AG and MainFirst Sec. US.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Closing is expected in the first quarter of 2019, pending regulatory approvals. Senior leadership from MainFirst has executed continuation agreements.
MainFirst is widely recognized for excellence in equity research, ranking as the number one provider of country research in both Germany and Switzerland, according to the 2018 Extel Survey.
Coupled with Stifel’s existing strength in the U.K. market, the merger creates a Pan-European platform with deep local expertise and distribution power throughout the continent’s major markets.
MainFirst carries a full German banking license, enabling Stifel to continue offering corporate advisory, brokerage, and investment banking services and clear and settle secondary equity and fixed income trades post-Brexit.
MainFirst also adds significant capital raising capabilities to Stifel’s already robust equity issuance business.
Through the first three quarters of 2018, Stifel ranked as the fourth largest fundraiser on the London Stock Exchange, based on both volume (25) and value (1.8 billion pounds) of deals. MainFirst is increasingly focused on syndicate roles, leveraging the firm’s core expertise in research and distribution.
Stifel Europe president Eithne O’Leary said: “We are extremely pleased to partner with MainFirst, as we continue to make opportunistic investments in our business.
“Given the evolving European regulatory environment and changing market dynamics, we will continue to pursue strategies that enable us to best serve current and future clients with a wider range of products.”
MainFirst equities CEO and head Ebrahim Attarzadeh said: “We are excited to join Stifel, and work with our new colleagues.
“Combined, we will be more relevant to clients in both our brokerage and investment banking businesses.”
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel company, served as financial advisor to Stifel in this transaction.
Source: Company Press Release