By DANIEL RIORDAN
Sharebroking merger mania continues with ABN Amro taking a half share of Craig & Co and Forsyth Barr Group buying Cavill White Securities. Both deals are for undisclosed prices.
ABN Amro and Craig & Co are merging their retail broking arms to form ABN Amro Craigs. The remaining half of the new firm will be owned by Craig & Co advisers, including managing director Neil Craig. Brent Sheather, who with Mr Craig owns 43 per cent of Craig & Co, will run the Whakatane office as an associated branch.
The new entity will have more than 45,000 clients, 60 advisers (six of them from ABN Amro) and 120 staff working from 11 offices nationwide.
ABN chief executive Simon Allen said Craig & Co's small research arm would join ABN Amro's bigger team, benefiting Craig's private clients, while ABN's investment banking business would benefit from Craig's retail network when it came to floats and new issues.
Mr Craig said the deal would give Craig & Co the financial backing of a major global investment bank and more security for investors.
The merger, conditional on regulatory approval, should be completed in March.
Meanwhile, Forsyth Barr's deal for Cavill White will go through on March 31.
This follows Forsyth Barr's purchase of Frater Williams two months ago.
Cavill White managing director Don Turkington said the sale would raise the investment banking profile of Forsyth Barr in the middle to smaller end of the market where Cavill White specialised, and provide access to Cavill's overseas clients.
Cavill White clients would gain access to services such as cash management accounts and superannuation funds provided by Forsyth Barr.
The enlarged Forsyth Barr Group, including Cavill White, will be known north of Taupo as Forsyth Barr Frater Williams, but will trade as Forsyth Barr elsewhere.
Cavill White was founded in 1988 by a group of investors including Dr Turkington, who will continue as an executive director of Forsyth Barr.
More broker changes are expected soon.
Potential buyers are understood to be hovering over Merrill Lynch's private client business, with ASB Securities and ABN Amro the leading candidates, while Chase Ord Minnett is changing its name to JP Morgan on January 1.
Deutsche Bank has bought Deutsche Risk Management Advisory from Stuart Henderson and former Bancorp executive director Roger Kerr. The business will be renamed Asia-Pacific Risk Management.
Merry merger mania continues as broking world unites
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