CIBC Agrees to Buy Milwaukee Boutique Bank Cleary Gull

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce agreed to acquire Milwaukee-based boutique investment banking firm Cleary Gull Inc. to further expand its deal-making capabilities in the U.S.

Cleary Gull, a firm founded in 1987, specializes in mid-sized mergers and acquisitions, private capital placement and debt advisory across the U.S., Toronto-based CIBC said Tuesday in a statement. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, weren’t disclosed.

“This specific acquisition is establishing a footprint for us in middle-market investment banking,” Roman Dubczak, head of global investment banking, said in a phone interview. “They’re a seasoned group and good people -- and we thought the cultural fit was ideal.”

CIBC has been pushing for greater U.S. growth following its acquisition of Chicago-based PrivateBank two years ago, while pursuing more cross-border integration in commercial banking, wealth management and capital markets.

CIBC, which has a U.S. capital markets presence in New York, Chicago and Houston, was attracted to Cleary Gull’s focus on entrepreneurs and family-owned private companies, along with a “nice overlay” of industry expertise in manufacturing, business services, the consumer sector and technology in a firm of 23 bankers, according to Dubczak.

“With our focus on family and entrepreneur-owned business, as well as private equity firms, we are excited about the opportunities for our clients and our team as part of CIBC’s growing business in the U.S.,” Ronald Miller, Cleary Gull’s president, said in the statement.

Shares of CIBC fell 0.2% to C$103.59 at 9:47 a.m. in Toronto.

To contact the reporter on this story: Doug Alexander in Toronto at dalexander3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Steven Frank at sfrank9@bloomberg.net;Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net

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