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May 26, 2021 at 05:31 PM
What You Need to Know
- The transaction continues the firm’s strategic growth in its investment banking capabilities and follows its recent acquisition of Financo.
- Raymond James also launched a new application for advisors.
- The firm also picked up an advisor team from Wells Fargo.
Raymond James Financial has reached an agreement to acquire Cebile Capital, a private fund placement agent and secondary market advisor to private equity firms, Raymond James said on Tuesday.
The acquisition continues the firm’s strategic growth in its investment banking capabilities, both domestically and internationally, it said. In December, Raymond James announced the acquisition of Financo, a consumer-focused boutique investment bank that, like Cebile, has offices in London and New York. That was announced a week after Raymond James said it planned to buy the retirement plan administrator NWPS.
Raymond James didn’t specify how much it is paying for Cebile. The purchase is subject to regulatory and other closing conditions, Raymond James said. The deal will close in the third quarter this year, it said Wednesday.
Raymond James has been studying the fund placement and secondaries market for a while, with an interest in entering the market, and it approached Cebile when it saw announced transactions where Cebile was the advisor to private equity firms that are good clients and prospects of Raymond James, according to Jim Bunn, president of global equities and investment banking at Raymond James.
The addition of Cebile to the Raymond James Investment Banking division will deepen relationships it has with the private equity community and expand the related service offerings to include fund placements, general partner-led secondaries capabilities and limited partner-led secondaries advisory, a “rapidly expanding market,” it said.
Cebile will operate as a new business unit within Raymond James Investment Banking and will be led by Cebile founder Sunaina Sinha Haldea. It will continue to serve leading middle-market PE and private capital firms and their LPs in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, it said.
“Our similar cultures, commitment to client-first values and shared focus on the middle-market make this an ideal opportunity to add an additional service offering to our PE clients who, like Raymond James, are constantly looking to provide value and growth for their investors,” according to Paul Reilly, Raymond James chairman and CEO.
The acquisition reflects Raymond James’ emphasis on expanding its investment banking business, and also represents its “entrance into providing capabilities such as private fund placements and secondary market advisory to PE firms,” it said.
Raymond James has about 8,300 financial advisors and total client assets of $1.13 trillion, it said.
New Raymond James Advisor Tool
Separately, Raymond James plans to introduce a new application to assist financial advisors with communicating more holistic, customized offerings with prospective and current clients, it said.
The new application demonstrates the firm’s commitment to supporting financial advisors through innovative technology and its continued investment in the platform, according to Vin Campagnoli, its chief information officer.
