Stifel Financial Corp. SF has inked a deal to sell Sterne Agee Group, Inc.’s Institutional Equities business to CRT Capital Group LLC. The deal announced on Friday, is expected to close immediately after receiving necessary approvals. Financial terms of the deal remained undisclosed.
CRT Capital will acquire Sterne Agee’s equities business, including equity sales, trading and research operations. Based in Connecticut, CRT Capital offers security brokerage, investment banking and equity research services.
The latest move does not come as a surprise as St. Louis-based Stifel Financial indicated about the proposed sale of the unit during the company’s announcement of the merger agreement with Birmingham-based Sterne Agee in the previous month. The merger is set to strengthen Stifel Financial’s wealth management and fixed-income business. The value of the merger deal is estimated at around $150 million and is anticipated to close in towards the end of spring.
Stifel Financial had revealed then that Sterne Agee’s Institutional Equity and Investment Banking business will operate independently on a stand-alone basis. Also, the company stated that it remains focused to seek “the right partner” or it may consider other alternatives including a spin-off of the Institutional Equity and Investment Banking business as a separate entity altogether.
In connection with the announcement of sale of the equities business, CEO of Stifel, Ronald J. Kruszewski mentioned, “We, together with Sterne Agee’s management, were committed to finding the right partner, and are very pleased that we have accomplished this goal of keeping approximately 170 professionals together so they can continue their careers as a team.”
Stifel Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some-better ranked stocks in the investment-brokerage space include Cowen Group, Inc. COWN, Investment Technology Group Inc. ITG and JMP Group LLC JMP. All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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