MLV & Co. Financial, the parent company of boutique investment bank MLV & Co., has entered into an agreement to purchase 49 percent of Westport Capital Markets LLC, a privately held broker-dealer and RIA, said executives at MLV today.
Westport Capital Market is based in Westport, Conn. MLV Financial said the purchase will help it expand its range of products to offer clients.
MLV Financial, based in New York, plans to build a retail and asset management platform with Westport to serve as its hub. The two firms plan to soon pursue other acquisitions to help expand Westport's platform and assets under management.
The deal is expected to close after it receives regulatory approvals from Finra. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1996, Westport provides broker-dealer and investment advisory services to high-net-worth retail investors and a diverse array of institutional clients across the U.S.
MLV Financial's primary operating company, MLV, is an independent, full-service investment bank and institutional broker-dealer. Since its launch in 2010, MLV has completed more than 90 transactions and raised more than $2.5 billion. From January 2010 through June 30, 2012, MLV has been the lead underwriter on 65 market transactions totaling nearly $2 billion.