Bronfman E.L. Rothschild LP, a registered investment advisor with a dual heritage reaching back to old world European banking and what was once the world’s largest distillery, will be acquired by NFP Corp. and combined with its wealth management subsidiary, NFP announced on Tuesday.
NFP, a New York City-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm, said it will integrate Bronfman Rothschild with Sontag Advisory LLC, its wealth management affiliate and an independent RIA with clients in more than 30 states. Sontag Advisory is also based in New York City. Bronfman Rothschild is headquartered in Rockville, Md., and has 10 offices in the upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. The united entity will have roughly $10 billion in combined assets across individual and institutional clients.
According to the press statement announcing the deal, Sontag Advisory chairman Howard Sontag will become chairman of the combined entity; Mike LaMena, president and chief operating officer of Bronfman Rothschild, will become chief executive officer; and Eric Sontag will become president and chief operating officer.
The transaction is expected to close in this year’s second quarter, and a new branding strategy will unfold during the year. Term deals were not announced.
In May 2013, Bronfman E.L. Rothschild LP was formed as the successor by conversion from Baker Tilly Investment Advisors LLC, formerly a regional wealth management unit of Baker Tilly, one of the country’s largest accounting firms.
That deal came about from the combined investment by Matthew Bronfman and the E.L. Rothschild family. Bronfman is a private investor whose family owned the Seagram Company, the former distillery giant that at its peak was the world’s largest purveyor of alcoholic beverages. Rothschild is a descendent of the Rothschild family that dominated European banking in the 19th century.
After Bronfman E.L. Rothschild expanded with its acquisition of Highline Wealth Management LLC in 2015, it said it aimed to become a $10 billion firm by 2020. Now, with its pending combination with Sontag Advisors, it looks like they’ll get their wish.