Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, a US-based financial services company, has agreed to acquire an independent broker-dealer and investment advisor KMS Financial Services.
The acquisition of KMS will expand Ladenburg’s presence in Pacific Northwest.
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The deal will add over $14 billion in client assets and approximately 325 independent financial advisors as well as $84 million in revenue to Ladenburg.
Following the deal, Mark Hamby, KMS’s chairman and CEO, Eric Westberg, its president and COO, and the remaining KMS management team will continue to operate KMS as a separate business based in its in Seattle, Washington.
As part of the acquisition, advisors of KMS will have access to Ladenburg products and services including investment banking, capital markets resources, institutional quality equity research, a fixed-income trading desk.
KMS will also have access to wealth management services through Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, point-of-sale support for life insurance products through Highland Capital Brokerage, and advisor-friendly trust services through Premier Trust.
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By GlobalDataSubject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close later this year.
As per the terms of the deal, Ladenburg will pay nearly $24 million including $11 million of cash, $8 million of four-year notes and 1,440,922 shares of its common stock.
Following the closure of Ladenburg’s pending acquisitions of KMS and Sunset Financial Services, the firm will have around $110 billion in client assets, 3,500 independent financial advisors and $1 billion of annual revenues.
Richard Lampen, President and CEO of Ladenburg, said: "As a part of the Ladenburg family, KMS will retain its distinct brand while gaining the advantages of access to the differentiated products and services offered to our independent advisors, enabling them to meet evolving client needs, stay competitive and further grow their business."
Phillip Frost, Chairman of the Board and principal shareholder of Ladenburg, said: "This transaction shows Ladenburg’s commitment to the proposition that the independent brokerage and advisory business is one of the most dynamic areas of the financial services industry."
