Stifel Buys Vining Sparks, Boosting Bank-Advisory Practice
Stifel Buys Vining Sparks to Add $150 Billion in Trading Volume
(Bloomberg) -- Stifel Financial Corp. agreed to buy fixed-income brokerage Vining Sparks and its affiliates, adding about $150 billion in annual trading volume and further bulking up its banking-advisory capabilities.
Vining Sparks, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has roughly 275 employees in 13 offices across the country, according to a Stifel statement Wednesday. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
“It’s a cultural fit, and it’s a strong fit with our business,” Stifel Chief Executive Officer Ronald Kruszewski said in a phone interview. “It makes us a preeminent depository investment bank, and that’s what’s exciting about it.”
Kruszewski said Stifel subsidiary KBW Inc. has advised on almost two-thirds of U.S. bank deals announced since the start of the pandemic, and Vining Sparks complements that business well.
Since acquiring KBW in 2012, Stifel has inked deals for a number of other firms, including technology-focused merger-and-acquisitions firm Mooreland Partners and investment bank George K. Baum & Co.
The Vining Sparks transaction comes amid a wave of tie-ups in the finance sector, especially among regional banks. Citizens Financial Group Inc. earlier this month agreed to buy investment bank JMP Group LLC. for $149 million.
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