RBC completes acquisition of Richardson Barr & Co.
NEW YORK and HOUSTON, August 5, 2008 — RBC (RY
on TSX and NYSE) today announced it has completed the acquisition
of Richardson Barr & Co., a leading Houston-based energy
advisory firm specializing in acquisitions and divestitures
(A&D) in the exploration and production (E&P) sector.
The new entity will be renamed RBC Richardson Barr. Terms
of the transaction were not disclosed.
A&D firms specialize in assisting public and private
companies in the divestiture of their oil and gas properties.
The merger gives RBC Richardson Barr the ability to provide
its private company clients a complete range of financing
and M&A support, as well as ready access to RBC's strong
public company relationships, solid financial resources, and
expanded product capabilities in equity, high yield, loan
syndications, private placement, and convertibles.
"Clients of RBC Richardson Barr will continue to receive
the same high quality of service they've come to rely on,
and will now also have access to the full range of capital
markets products and services that RBC offers," said
Scott Richardson, co-founding principal of Richardson Barr.
The acquisition further strengthens RBC's top-tier North
American energy practice and provides added value to its clients
in the E&P sector through the combination of RBC's capital
markets capabilities and public company relationships, and
RBC Richardson Barr's additional specialized market intelligence
and valuation capability, robust transaction pipeline, and
proprietary ideas and insights in the A&D sector. The
deal also helps enhance RBC's private company relationships
and advisory services in the E&P sector.
"In acquiring Richardson Barr, we are able to offer
our clients 'best in class' services from a firm that is a
well-respected leader in the E&P sector," said Peter
de Vos, RBC Capital Markets' head of U.S. Investment Banking.
"We feel this will be a terrific partnership that will
further enhance our position as one of the leading middle
market investment banks in the United States."
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 announced 11 acquisitions in
the U.S. in the past two years, including acquisitions by
RBC Capital Markets of Daniels & Associates, the nation's
most active M&A advisor to the cable, telecom, broadcast
and Internet services industries; Carlin Financial Group,
a broker-dealer known for its proprietary trade execution
platform; and Seasongood & Mayer, the number one ranked
public finance firm in Ohio.
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
platform includes a significant U.S. middle market investment
banking franchise and leading equity, underwriting, sales,
trading and research businesses. Bloomberg ranks the firm
as the 12th largest investment bank globally.
RBC Capital Markets' Global Energy
Group provides advice and raises capital for the energy
and utilities sectors around the world, including exploration
& production, oil field services, pipelines, master limited
partnerships (MLPs), and refining and marketing. The firm
provides award winning energy research that covers more than
200 energy companies around the world. RBC is one of the most
experienced banks in the world in oils sands financing and
is a Nomad on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries
operate under the master brand name of RBC. We are Canada's
largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization
and one of North America's leading diversified financial services
companies. We provide personal and commercial banking, wealth
management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking
and transaction processing services on a global basis. Our
corporate support team enables business growth with expert
professional advice and state-of-the art processes and technology.
We employ approximately 75,000 full- and part-time employees
who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public
sector and institutional clients throughout offices in Canada,
the U.S. and 45 other countries around the world. For more
information, please visit www.rbc.com.
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For further information, please contact::
U.S.
Kevin Foster, RBC, 212-428-6902, kevin.foster@rbc.com
Loretta Healy, The Hubbell Group, 781-878-8882, lhealy@hubbellgroup.com
Canada
Beja Rodeck, RBC, 416-974-5506, beja.rodeck@rbc.com
Investor Relations
Amy Cairncross, RBC, 416-955-7809,
amy.cairncross@rbc.com
For general investor relations information please visit:
www.rbc.com/investorrelations.
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