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RBC Capital Markets completes acquisition of Seasongood
& Mayer
NEW YORK, June 18, 2007 — RBC Capital Markets
today announced the completion of its acquisition of Seasongood
& Mayer, LLC, the state of Ohio's top-ranked public finance
firm and leading underwriter of municipal debt. As part of
the proposed deal, RBC has also acquired Seasongood Asset
Management, a wholly owned subsidiary and investment advisor
to public funds clients. Terms of the transaction were not
disclosed.
The merger bolsters RBC Capital Markets' leadership position
in the U.S. municipal investment banking market while enhancing
its overall presence in Ohio and in K-12 education finance
nationally. In addition to being the top negotiated underwriter
in Ohio, the combined RBC entity, based on 2006 rankings,
is the #1 ranked municipal finance firm nationally in both
U.S. middle market issues and the K-12 school finance sector.
"When we look at a transaction, we want to acquire a
quality company with a leading position in the market and
a high reputation among its peers - that's Seasongood &
Mayer," said Larry Holtz, Head of Municipal Markets for
RBC Capital Markets. "Our U.S. Municipal issuance business
has more than doubled over the past decade - this deal will
help fuel our momentum and further strengthens our franchise
as one of the leading municipal finance platforms in the United
States."
Seasongood Asset Management currently manages $1.5 billion
in assets for public fund clients in the Ohio region. The
asset management portion of the Seasongood business will operate
under the name RBC Public Fund Services as a joint venture
between RBC Capital Markets and RBC's Voyageur Asset Management.
"We are excited to join RBC and are looking forward
to making a contribution to the continuing success of RBC
Capital Markets," said Todd Braff, head of RBC Capital
Markets' Ohio operations and a former Managing Principal of
Seasongood & Mayer. "Among other benefits, the merger
will allow us to better serve our clients in the state of
Ohio while maintaining our longstanding leadership position."
RBC Capital Markets municipal finance business ranked in
the top five in 2006 in the states of Arizona (1st), Pennsylvania
(1st), Colorado (2nd), Texas (4th) and New Jersey (5th). All
five states rank in the top 15 issuer states in the U.S. RBC
Capital Markets ranked eighth last year in the U.S. in senior-managed
negotiated municipal bond underwriting volume. Seasongood
& Mayer has been the #1 ranked municipal finance firm
in Ohio for 12 consecutive years.
The transaction is the latest in a series of deals completed
by RBC as it continues to build its presence in the United
States and globally. RBC has made seven acquisitions in the
U.S. in the past 11 months, including acquisitions by RBC
Capital Markets of Carlin Financial Group, a broker-dealer
known for its proprietary trade execution platform, and Daniels
& Associates, the nation's most active M&A advisor
to the cable, telecom, broadcast and Internet services industries.
About RBC Capital Markets
RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking
arm of RBC and is active globally in debt origination, sales
and trading, foreign exchange, infrastructure finance, structured
products, metals and mining and energy. Its North American
equity underwriting, sales, trading and research business
leads the Canadian market and supports a significant and growing
franchise in the U.S. middle market. Bloomberg ranks the firm
as one of the Top 20 investment banks globally.
Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements under certain securities
laws, including the "safe harbor" provisions of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities legislation,
and RBC Capital Markets intends that such forward-looking
statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby.
The words "may," "could," "should,"
"would," "suspect," "outlook,"
"believe," "plan," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"forecast," "objective" and words and
expressions of similar import are intended to identify forward-looking
statements.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve
numerous assumptions, and inherent risks and uncertainties,
both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions,
forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements
will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue
reliance on these statements as a number of important factors
could cause our actual results to differ materially from the
beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates
and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements.
These factors include, but are not limited to the possibility
that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized
as a result of such things as the strength of the economy
and competitive factors in the areas where the Seasongood
& Mayer, LLC business does business; the impact of changes
in the laws and regulations regulating financial services
and enforcement thereof (including banking, insurance and
securities); judicial judgments and legal proceedings; RBC
Capital Markets ability to integrate Seasongood & Mayer,
LLC with RBC Capital Markets successfully; reputational risks,
and other factors that may affect future results of RBC Capital
Markets and the Seasongood & Mayer, LLC business including
changes in trade policies, timely development and introduction
of new products and services, changes in tax laws, and technological
and regulatory changes. We caution that the foregoing list
of important factors is not exhaustive.
RBC Capital Markets assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements contained in this press release.
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For more information, please contact:
New York
Kevin Foster, RBC Capital Markets, 212-428-6902, kevin.foster@rbccm.com
Toronto
Katherine Gay, RBC Capital Markets, 416-974-6286, katherine.gay@rbc.com
Beja Rodeck, RBC, 416-974-5506, beja.rodeck@rbc.com
Ohio
Joe Bride, Seasongood & Mayer, 513-368-0848, jobe@fuse.net
Investor Relations
Marcia Moffat, RBC, 416-955-7803, marcia.moffat@rbc.com
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