BMO Financial Group To Buy M&A Advisory Firm Greene Holcomb Fisher For Undisclosed Terms

BMO Financial Group (NYSE: BMO) revealed Thursday it reached a definitive deal to acquire the business of Greene Holcomb Fisher ("GHF"), a premier boutique M&A advisory firm based in Minneapolis, with additional offices in Seattle and Atlanta. According to the company, the transaction required regulatory approval and is predicted to close in fourth quarter, which ends on October 31. The two companies did not disclose the terms and conditions of the agreement.

BMO Financial said that the transaction would complement its current M&A practice by considerably increasing its number of global M&A professionals and doubling the number of M&A transactions in the United States. The company indicated that in 2015, the two firms advised on a total of 90 completed M&A transactions with a value of $77B. The company added that GHF's industry focus areas were similar to it in the U.S., including Industrials, Food, Consumer & Retail, Healthcare, Technology, Business Services, and Energy.

The company's Global Head of Investment & Corporate Banking, Perry Hoffmeister, said, "We are pleased to welcome Greene Holcomb Fisher to BMO Financial Group. GHF is highly complementary to our U.S. strategy and our focus on the mid-cap space. The transaction underscores our commitment to effectively serve our U.S. clients by deepening our Midwest footprint, growing our U.S. M&A business and strengthening our client focus on the industry sectors that we cover."

BMO Capital said it has more than 20 years of history with GHIF established a reputation for providing hands-on merger and acquisition advice to family and entrepreneur owned companies, private equity groups and public companies in the United States. With over 30 investment banking professionals, GHF has completed more than 100 transactions in the the last 5 years.

The company's capital markets head, Lyle Wilpon, commented, "GHF's strong capabilities in serving the financial sponsor community, as well as privately held and family-owned companies, will allow us to broaden coverage of our U.S. capital markets and commercial bank clients. In making this acquisition we are adding expertise, depth and experience to enhance our capabilities and better serve our clients in these business segments."

After the closing, BMO said that GHF would be rebranded as its Capital Markets. The GHF team would report to Wilpon.