A 27-year-old Illinois firm with an asset management arm is poised to sell to a publicly traded firm in Canada.

Philip "Phil" Hildebrant Segall Bryant & Hamill, LLC CEO

Yesterday Kurt MacAlpine, CEO of CI Financial Corp, confirmed that the Toronto-based firm has agreed to buy Chicago-based Segall Bryant & Hamill (SBH [profile]). The deal is expected to close next quarter.

Pricing and terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cambridge International Partners advised SBH on the deal. According to SBH's most recent form ADV (filed last June), the firm is primarily owned by: Thoma Bravo (a private equity firm), between 25 and 49 percent; co-founder Charles Bryant's SBGP Holdings, between 10 and 24 percent; Ralph Segal (principal, co-founder, and chief investment officer of SBH), between 10 and 24 percent; and SBH Phil Hildebrandt, between 5 and 9 percent.

As of December 31, 2020, SBH had $23.1 billion in AUMA between its wealth management and asset management businesses, the latter of which includes institutional business (like subadvising) and mutual funds. The deal is expected to double CI's AUMA in the U.S. to $46.1 billion, while boosting its total AUMA in North America to $205 billion (C$261 billion). This will be CI's 14th acquisition south of the border.

CI's MacAlpine describes the deal as "a major step forward" for the firm's continued expansion in the U.S., and he lauds SBH for its "incredible business and ... committed team." (As of last year's form ADV, SBH had 126 employees, not counting clerical staff.)

"The SBH team will remain intact and be a key driver of CI's growth in the U.S., " MacAlpine states.

SBH's Hildebrandt, predicts synergies from the deal, describing CI and SBH as "like-minded organizations."

"CI is a strong partner for SBH, providing the capital resources of a large, global investment firm while allowing us to retain our client-centric approach," Hildebrandt states. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE