Stifel snags Thomas Weisel in $300M merger

Stifel Financial Corp. and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. today announced that they have reached a definitive agreement to merge operations. The deal, an all-stock transaction, is valued at more than $300 million.

Thomas Weisel Partners, an investment bank based in San Francisco, will be merged into a subsidiary of Stifel and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the St. Louis-based financial services holding company. The deal calls for each share of Thomas Weisel to be exchanged for 0.1364 shares of Stifel Financial common stock.

The transaction, which is subject to approval by Weisel shareholders and regulators, is expected to close on or about June 30, 2010.

The merger marks the second deal for Stifel in less than a fortnight. On April 16, the publicly traded company — and parent of broker-dealer Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated — acquired investment advisory firm Missouri Valley Partners from First Banks Inc.

Estimated annual revenues of a combined Stifel/Weisel are approximately $1.6 billion. The merged companies have a pro forma market cap of approximately $2 billion.

“With the merger, Stifel’s revenue mix remains balanced between its institutional group and global wealth management segments,” Ronald J. Kruszewski, chairman and CEO of Stifel Financial, said in a statement

Thomas Weisel does offer brokerage, advisory and cash management services to high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients. But the company is best known for its mid-market i-bank operation.

“Our platform adds key growth sectors to Stifel’s investment banking business, particularly in technology, healthcare and energy,” Thomas W. Weisel, chairman and CEO of Thomas Weisel Partners said in a statement. “Stifel has one of the largest global wealth management groups with nearly $100 billion in client assets, which is a great complement to the combined investment bank.”

While Mr. Kruszewski and Mr. Weisel will be co-chairmen of the board following the merger, Mr. Kruszewski will remain president and CEO of Stifel Financial Corp.