(bizjournals) Stifel Financial is expanding its fixed-income business with the acquisition of First Empire Holding Corp. of Hauppauge, New York, whose subsidiaries include First Empire Securities Inc., an institutional broker-dealer specializing in the fixed income markets.
First Empire provides a full range of fixed income products and services, primarily to credit unions, regional banks, insurance companies, pensions, and municipalities. It also works with depository institutions nationwide on strategies to enhance the performance of their loan portfolios and mitigate risks to their balance sheets.
Terms of the deal, announced Tuesday, were not disclosed.
“This acquisition fills out strategic needs in our fixed income business, and after careful analysis it was determined that an acquisition was preferable to the time, cost and execution risks associated with building organically,” Chairman Ron Kruszewski said in a call with analysts Tuesday to discuss the company’s third-quarter financial results.
Stifel operates one of the most comprehensive fixed income platforms globally, executing nearly $600 billion in trades each year and has 45 research analysts and strategists, 85 traders, and almost 200 salespeople throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Stifel has made almost 30 acquisitions across the U.S. and in Europe since 2000. Other recent acquisitions include Business Bancshares Inc. and its subsidiary The Business Bank of St. Louis, with $630M in assets, and Rand & Associates, a $1.3B wealth management firm in San Francisco.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel company, served as financial advisor to Stifel in the First Empire deal. Freeman & Co. served as financial advisor to First Empire.
Stifel Tuesday reported third-quarter net income available to shareholders of $101.5 million on net revenue of $738.3 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from net income of $64.2 million on net revenue of $721.2 million in the third quarter of 2017.
“I'm very optimistic about our business,” Kruszewski said during the call. “Despite the recent market volatility, the U.S. economy remains strong. We are gaining traction in our recruiting efforts. Our investment banking pipelines are growing, and we continue to generate significant excess capital.”
