Merchant Investment Management LLC, a private partnership investment company headquartered in New York City, has acquired a minority stake in Alaris Acquisitions, a Mooresville, N.C.-based M&A deal origination service to wealth management firms, the companies announced in a news release.
Merchant’s investment in Alaris provides its affiliated wealth management firms with a resource for inorganic growth, while preserving Alaris’s independence to work with advisors of its choosing, the news release said.
“Alaris is now poised to guide firms of all sizes toward the best opportunities to take advantage of a historic climate for deals and inorganic growth,” said Matt Brinker, managing partner of Merchant, in the news release.
Under the new Alaris business model, made possible by Merchant’s minority investment in the company, larger RIAs acquiring smaller firms will pay 100% of the M&A fee, reportedly saving sellers hundreds of thousands of dollars to transact the deal.
Alaris founder Allen Darby, an industry veteran who has bought, sold and advised on more than 50 M&A deals, said in the news release that Merchant’s investment in his company would give his team the resources and freedom to perform their best work, at a time it is most in demand.
“Our industry faces a tidal wave of M&A activity driven by succession, the race to scale, and the resources needed to give investors the best possible service,” Darby said. “It is fast-moving, complex work, and we’re excited to bring a new model to the market for firms that are open to having partnership dialogues with our clients.”
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.